What if I Don't Want to Win?
by YesIWriteForFun
Summary: Katniss and Peeta's roles are reversed. Peeta is the Seam boy with a sibling to protect and a family to feed, while Katniss is the merchant girl with the seemingly good life. Loosely following the plot of canon, just their positions reversed, personalities altered slightly in accordance. Slightly better description inside. Rated T for language.
1. Already Dying

**Hey, guys! I'm back, from my super long hiatus that ended up being way longer than I had planned, which, by the way, I am super sorry about. But, I'm back now, and I am ready to start posting my newly updated chapters to this story! If you haven't read this before, I will post a better discription below this. If you have, you can just skip over that part, but I do highly suggest that you read the chapters I will be posting. I took down all the old ones because, quite frankly, I changed a lot and they just didn't match up at all anymore. Trust me though, I think you guys will like these one better - I know I do! Anyway, enjoy!**

**Summary: Katniss is no longer the Seam girl that was forced to grow up starving and practically raising her and Prim by herself. Instead, Peeta is the one with a sibling to care for and Katniss is the Town girl who seems to never have to worry about hunger. The story will loosely follow canon, but overall I've changed a lot. Personalities will change as well - I believe for the better - but nothing too drastic. Just minor tweaks that make more sense with the change of their environments. But, be warned, these personality changes may have more drastic changes on the plot of the story. If you are looking for a story that word for word follows canon, this is not the story for you.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. All characters and plots belong to the lovely Suzanne Collins.**

**XXXXXXX**

I jerked upright in my bed as a hacking cough pierced the air of my bedroom. I took a moment to attempt to rub the sleep from my eyes before I got up and stumbled my way through the dark. I sat down on the bed across from mine and placed a hand on my brother's back. It heaved violently beneath my touch as I rubbed circles into it. It killed me to know that there was nothing I could do for my brother as he suffered like this. The best I could do was be there for him emotionally.

Once the majority of his coughing subsided, I stood and whispered, "I'll be right back, Rye."

I shuffled into the kitchen, not wanting to turn on any lights in case it would wake my father. The last thing he needed was even more to worry about. Besides, he had put in extra hours in the mines yesterday to get some extra cash, and he needed all the rest he could get.

It didn't take me terribly long to find the only glass my family owned that wasn't broken around the rim and fill it with some water from the tap. I had made this trip too many nights to count, and I had every step memorized. By the time I made it back to our bedroom my eyes had adjusted to the darkness fairly well. I could see well enough to make out Rye sitting up, his legs slung over the side of the bed. He hadn't started coughing again, so I took that as a good sign.

I sat down beside him and carefully placed the glass in his shaking hands. His fits always left him weak and trembling. He quickly gulped down the water, then handed the glass back to me. "Thanks, Peeta," he said, his voice hoarse.

I glanced at the glass in my hand. The rim of it was stained dark. I knew even in the dim lighting that it was most likely blood that had clung to Rye's lips as he coughed it up. "No problem," I replied, my voice just as weak as his.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, neither of us in the mood to talk, but also not in the mood to go back to sleep just yet. Eventually, Rye broke the silence. "Are you scared?"

It took my tired mind a moment to process his words. At first I thought he was asking if his fit scared me, then I recalled what day it was. Reaping day. "No more than usual. Are you?"

Rye bit out a humorless laugh. "Little brother, you must be crazy to think that _I _would be afraid of a silly reaping. Besides, my name is only in there the minimum requirement of seven times, thanks to you." His tone had taken on a slightly bitter edge by the end of his statement.

I rolled my eyes in the dark even though I knew Rye couldn't see me. "Rye, you're sick. Of course I wouldn't let you take tesserae."

"That's not your problem to worry about," Rye spat.

"You're my brother," I shot back. "You know good and well that you wouldn't make it a day in the arena. I wasn't about to let you increase your odds of dying."

Rye's voice was void of all emotion when he spoke again. "Didn't anyone tell you, Peeta? I'm already dying."

There was a part of me that would've sat there all day and argued with him, trying desperately to convince him otherwise. But there was another part of me – the part of me that had seen more death in my sixteen years than most had seen in a lifetime – that knew he was right. My brother was dying, and no amount of hope or kinds words would change that. The only thing that could save him now was high-tech medicine from the Capitol. Stuff that we could never in a million years afford. So instead of arguing with him about it, I stood and said, "I'm going to get an early start. Try and get some sleep."

**XXXX**

My walk through town was silent. Normally, the streets would be filled with miners heading to work, but the entire country had the day off today so that they could be ready to watch the Reaping. How generous of the Capitol to do that for them.

I reached the weak spot in the fence that I normally used to sneak into the woods. Like always, I paused to make sure that I didn't hear the telltale hum that meant it was electrified. Unsurprisingly, I was met with silence.

I shimmied under the fence, having to bend uncomfortably to fit my broad shoulders through. The physical exertion of hunting combined with finally being able to fill my stomach had allowed me to finally get some muscle on me. It was important to be in good shape when you spent most of your time in the woods. You never knew what you would have to outrun, or when a pack of wild dogs would chase you up a tree.

I retrieved my bow and quiver from inside a fallen tree then made my way to the clearing where Gale and I usually met up. I wasn't surprised to find it vacant when I got there. I was here even earlier than normal, and Gale usually didn't get into the woods until after sunrise. I didn't mind the solitude though. I parked myself on a soft patch of grass and watched the sunrise. I loved sunrise, the way the lights gave everything a soft glow. But I loved the colors of sunset even more.

I never would have admitted it to Rye, but I was terrified for him. Regardless of how much he downplayed the Reaping, seven was still too many slips of paper with his name on them for my liking. Rye couldn't even walk at a normal pace without soon doubling over in a fit of coughs, let alone run away from the cornucopia. No matter how painful the thought was, I knew that if he was reaped, he would be an easy target, taken out minutes into the games.

Panic was starting to gnaw at my gut. Seven slips may seem like a lot, but it was still only seven in thousands, I reminded myself. The thought did little to make me feel better.

A twig snapped behind me. I spun around to face my attacker, an arrow already strung and aimed to kill. However, when I discovered that my "attacker" was only a startled looking Gale, I quickly lowered my bow and placed my arrow back in my quiver. "Sorry," I said, embarrassment coloring my cheeks.

Gale shrugged. "It's okay. Everyone's a bit on edge today." I sat back down in the grass and Gale came to join me. "How's Rye?"

I sighed. "Sarcastic. I know he's scared, but he's too proud to show it. I'm just so glad it's his last year."

Gale huffed. "I know what you mean."

"You're so lucky that next year you'll be in the mines making money. I still have two more years with my name in that ball."

"How many times is your name in there today?"

I picked at a blade of grass beneath my feet. "Twenty-one. How about you?"

"Forty-two."

Gale must've had some kind of luck, going so long with so many slips and not getting reaped. I was glad that I didn't have so many family members to take tesserae for, but I knew that even if I had twice as many siblings as Gale, I still would've taken tesserae out for every single one of them.

We were quiet for a while until Gale spoke up again. "Have you ever considered it?"

I met turned to meet Gale's gaze, only to find him staring out across the horizon. "Considered what?"

"Running away."

I scoffed. "To where?"

I assumed this was Gale's attempt to lighten the mood, but his voice was completely serious. "The woods. We could make it out there. We know how to take care of ourselves."

Gale was a good friend, someone I could rely on to always have my back, but he was also an irrational lunatic sometimes. "And what, abandon our families?"

Gale glared at me. "No. We would take them with us."

I shook my head, not in the mood for one of Gale's tirades. "Seriously? You think Hazelle and all the kids would make it out there? And what about Rye? He would die of asphyxiation before we even made it to the fence."

Gale got to his feet. "It's better than just sitting here and letting them control us."

I stood too, crossing my arms over my chest. "I would rather have my family alive and be dictated than have them dead and be independent. If you don't agree, then by all means, go run off into the woods. I won't stop you."

A muscle twitched in Gale's jaw, then he spun on his heel and stalked off into the woods without another word.

I wasn't really in the mood to hunt anymore, and I knew I needed to get back into town soon. But before I could head back I needed to collect the herbs for the apothecary shop owner. A few years ago, after she had discovered that I was going into the woods, she had made a deal with me. In exchange for Rye's medicine, she would give me a list each week with herbs that grew in the woods and she needed for her shop. It was a pretty good deal, considering I normally had to trade at least three squirrels to get enough money to buy the medicine.

It only took me about a half an hour to collect all the herbs on the list, and soon I was wriggling my way back under the fence. I was running late, but I wanted to make a quick stop at the hob anyway. I had shot a squirrel on my way back through the woods. It wouldn't get me much, but it would be enough to trade for a few candies for Rye. He deserved something for making it through the Reaping unscathed, which I was now convinced he would do.

Greasy Sae, the "cook" of the hob gave me a few coins for the squirrel. It was more than she usually gave me, and when I tried to tell her so, she said that this one was shot exceptionally clean, straight through the eye. I easily saw through her lie – all of my squirrels were shot through the eye – and I knew that she was actually feeling generous on account of it being Reaping day. Everyone got a little nicer on Reaping day.

With my coins jingling in my pocket, I strolled through the dusty old warehouse, looking for someone selling those peppermint candies that Rye loved so much. I finally found some at a table run by an old man named Torus. I had dealt with him on many occasions. He was a kind man that had a particular taste for strawberries. My few coins only bought me two candies, but it was enough that I knew Rye would be excited.

Just before I walked away from the table, a glint of gold caught my eye. Next to his assortment of candies, Torus had a box of small trinkets he was selling. I picked up the object that had caught my eye. It was a necklace, the chain plain, painted to look gold. Hanging off of it was a circular pendant with a bird inside. On closer inspection, I realized that it was a mockingjay, just like the birds I often ran into in the woods. The woods, my safe haven. It would be nice to have a reminder of the woods with me, even on the days I wasn't able to escape.

"How much for this?" I asked Torus. I think I had a few extra coins in my back pocket.

Torus looked me up and down. "How old are you?" In contrast to his kind personality, Torus's voice was gruff.

"Sixteen, sir."

Torus continued to examine me. "And how many times is your name in there today?"

"Twenty-one," I responded, confused as to where this conversation was headed.

A sympathetic look overcame his features, his voice softening slightly. "Just take it," he said. "As a good luck charm."

I nodded and slid it into my pocket. "Thank you. Next bucket of strawberries are free."

"Yeah, yeah. Just get out of here before I change my mind," Torus said, waving me away. But just before I left, I detected a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

My next stop was the apothecary shop to trade for Rye's medicine. I pushed through the door and a bell chimed delicately above my head. Previously, I had only dealt with Mrs. Everdeen, the owner of the shop. However, today I found her oldest daughter standing behind the counter in her place. I froze mid-step.

Katniss Everdeen was in my class at school. She had the Seam looks of her father, but she had grown up a town girl. I had only ever spoken to her once before.

No one who lives in District 12 can ever say that they're well fed, and those from the Seam have it even worse than those from town. However, my family always had a little more than the other Seam families when I was a child. My father made the standard miner's wage, but it was the extra cash my mother made doing the washing of some of the more wealthy people from town that made the difference. Our bellies were never truly full, but we were by no means starving.

When my mother died six years ago, we still should've had enough to survive. My father didn't make much, but he picked up all the extra shifts he could to make sure we still ate. It would have been enough if Rye hadn't gotten sick. The doctor's weren't sure exactly what happened. Rye had minor asthma as a kid, but nothing like he did now. Their theory was that the thin layer of coal dust that seemed to cover every inch of the Seam had finally become too much for his already weak lungs to handle. Rye could hardly breathe, and he was in terrible pain every time he coughed. It killed my dad to see him suffer that way, so he took the money that should've been used to put food on our table and used it to buy him medicine. Even the homemade remedies of the apothecary shop were bordering on being too expensive for us.

My oldest brother, Chibs, my father and I all knew that Rye needed to have enough to eat much more than we did, so we gave him as much food as we could, only saving for ourselves what we absolutely needed to survive. Of course, Rye never knew what we were doing. He never would've allowed us to make that sacrifice for him. I was starving, slowly coming a little closer to death each day.

One day, my dad had picked up an extra shift in the mines, so I went to get Rye's medicine instead. It was a terrible night, freezing and pouring rain. I walked out the door of the apothecary shop and slipped and fell. I was so weak and tired, I couldn't get up. I didn't want to get up. All I wanted was to sit there and die. I was so tired of waking up every morning with an empty stomach, fighting every day just to stay alive. I was ready to die. And then the door opened and an angel came out.

Katniss came and sat beside me, seeming not to even notice the rain. She studied my face, took in my hollow cheeks, my sunken in eyes. Everyone in District 12 knew what a starving person looked like. Anyone with eyes would've been able to see that it had been months since I had had enough to eat.

Katniss pulled something out of her coat. A loaf of bread, still warm from the oven. Before I knew what she was doing, she shoved it in my frozen hands. "Take it," she said, her voice soft but firm. "My family had extra."

Without waiting for a response, she ran back inside. With a renewed sense of energy and hope, I gathered all my strength and ran back home. For the first time in months, I went to bed that night with a full stomach.

"Um, can I help you?" Katniss asked, snapping me out of my reverie.

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment as I wondered how long I had been standing there, staring at her like an idiot. "Yes, sorry." I walked up to the counter and placed my bag on it. "I have the herbs your mom asked for."

Katniss peered in the bag, as if to make sure they were all there. "Good." She reached under the counter and retrieved a small container. "She said to give you this."

I grabbed the medicine and put it in my bag with Rye's candies. It wasn't very big, just a small vile of cream that helped to keep his airways open. "Where is you mom?" I asked casually.

Katniss looked suddenly uncomfortable. "Getting my sister ready for the Reaping." That explains it. "It's her first one."

I nodded. "Well, good luck to both of you."

Katniss scrutinized me, as if to see if I was being genuine. She must have seen something that convinced her I was, because eventually she graced me with a small smile. "Thank you."

I nodded and turned around toward the door. I was running very late by now and would have to hurry to make it to the Reaping on time. Just as I was about to walk out the door, Katniss's voice stopped me. "Peeta?" she called. I turned toward her. "Good luck to you and your brother too."

I smiled and pushed my way back through the door.

"Rye!" I called as I walked into the house. "I got your medicine!"

Rye strolled into the room with a grin on his face. He had already bathed, and he was dressed up in Chibs's old dress clothes. "It's about damn time," he huffed.

I rolled my eyes and placed the container in front of him. "I'm going to go get ready. I'm already running late."

Rye grinned at me. "You're lucky. The bath should still be warm."

I quickly stripped and scrubbed the dirt from my skin. Rye had lied; the water was ice cold. When I got out, I discovered that my dad had laid out some of his old dress clothes for me. They were a bit too small, but they fit better than Chibs's would have.

When I came back into the kitchen, Rye was sitting at the table still, his head in his hands, a slight snore coming from him. I snuck up behind him as quietly as I could, then smacked him upside his head.

With a snort, he jerked awake. He turned around and glared at me, rubbing the back of this head dramatically. "What was that for?!" he exclaimed.

"Lying about the water. Come on, we have to go."

Rye grumbled, but stood and followed me out the door nonetheless.

Our walk through town took longer than mine had earlier, because Rye had to walk at a slower pace. He would have trouble standing for the duration of the Reaping, but luckily Gale and he were the same age and would be able to stand together in case he needed help.

When we finally got to the square and had to separate, I turned to Rye with a firm expression. "You're going to stay with Gale the entire time and let him help you when you need it."

Rye rolled his eyes. "Jeez, you would think I'm the younger sibling."

I narrowed my eyes. "Rye."

Rye groaned. "Sir, yes, sir." I turned to go to my section, but Rye caught my arm before I could take a step. "I'll see you after, right?" For the first time in a while, I saw genuine fear in his eyes.

I gave him a reassuring smile. "Right."

The ceremony began just as I made it to my designated section. It seemed that I wasn't the only late arriver. Haymitch Abernathy, the lone surviving victor of District 12, stumbled onto the stage and plopped into his seat just as the Mayor went to the microphone to begin his speech. Effie Trinket, the Capitol escort, glared daggers at him.

I tuned out the mayor's speech, having heard it so many times it was practically burned into my brain. How Panem had risen out of the ruins of what was formally North America. How the 13 districts had rebelled against their wonderful government that was the Capitol during the Dark Days. How District 13 had been obliterated and now the annual sending off of our children to slaughter was our punishment.

All too soon, the speech was over and Effie Trinket took her place at the microphone. She cleared her throat, then chirped out in her high pitched Capitol accent, "Ladies first!"

**XXXXXXXXX**

**Woo hoo! A super long chapter to start off the story! All chapters probably won't be this long, but I will aim to keep them all above 2000 words. So, what did you guys think? Should I have kept the old chapters? Was I right to rewrite them? Let me know with a lovely review! ;)**

**Love always,**

**YesIWriteForFun**

**P.S. Not exactly sure when I will update again, but it will probably be next weekend. Right now, I only have the first 5 chapters written. I had really wanted to wait until I had the whole story typed out and edited before I posted it, but I was just too excited to share this with you guys to wait! So, like I said, no promises, but if I am seriously encouraged, I might be willing to post the next chapter tomorrow... ;)**


	2. Not Just a Piece in their Games

**Hey guys! I'm back! Thank you all so much for the reivews, follows and favs! I'm so glad to see that I've kept some old readers and gained some new ones! This chapter is the Reaping! Yay!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. All rights go to Suzanne Collins.**

**XXXXXX**

Effie's heels clicked across the stage at a rapid pace. She reached into the bowl containing the names of every girl in our district between the ages of twelve and eighteen. She hovered dramatically above the slips of paper for only a moment, before reaching out and snagging one, like a snake grabbing its victim. With the slip of paper in her hand, she clicked her way back over to the microphone. Then, with a huge smile plastered on her face, she read out in a clear voice, "Katniss Everdeen."

No.

My knees felt weak. Why her? Why did it have to be her? I watched as she made her way through the crowd and to the stage, her head held high. I owed this girl my life, and now I would never be able to repay her. I never even thanked her for saving my life.

I had meant to, I really had. The next day, at school, I had seen her across the school yard. I knew that that was my opportunity to tell her how grateful I was, but I chickened out. Instead, I decided to walk to her house and thank her there.

The route to her house went past a section of the fence that was very close to the edge of the woods. I was almost there when I saw it: a patch of strawberries. I froze in my steps. My stomach growled loudly just looking at them. I wanted nothing more than to just reach out and grab some. Strawberries were food, even if they were in the woods. That's when it hit me. Food grew in the woods. No one was around, and the fence was off, so I snuck under and grabbed as many strawberries as I could carry, popping a few in my mouth as well.

That night, we had toast and strawberry jam. Soon after that, I met Gale, who had lost his father to the same disease that killed my mother. His father had taught him how to hunt, and Gale taught me. After that, my family never went another night without food.

So I never thanked Katniss. She had saved my life twice, even if one of the times was inadvertent. And now, I would never get the chance to thank her. I would never forgive myself for being a coward and not thanking her when I had the chance.

Now she stood on the stage looking so strong. To the cameras and potential sponsors watching, she looked fierce. Tough. But anyone who looked closely enough could see how her hands shook, how her chest rose and fell rapidly under her blue dress.

I was so caught up in kicking myself for being the coward I was that I hadn't even noticed that Effie had already picked the slip with the male tribute's name on it. I didn't even have time to be afraid before she was reading the name. "Rye Mellark."

The world froze. I couldn't breathe. I think I may have started to fall, because someone next to me was clutching my arm, saying something that I couldn't hear. Rye. My sickly older brother was going into the Hunger Games. I remembered my words to him from just this morning. _You wouldn't make it a day in the arena._ I hadn't said that just to placate him. In my heart, I truly believed that he wouldn't make it out of the initial bloodbath.

I strained to see Rye through the crowd. He was walking with his head held high, trying to seem as healthy and strong as possible. He did looked strong, just like the older brother I remember wrestling with growing up. And then he let out a chocking cough.

The loud noise finally startled me out of my stupor, and I started violently shoving my way through the crowd of people to get to him. "Stop!" I choked out. "Rye!" He kept walking, trying his best to cover his cough. "Rye!" I cried. He finally turned around.

Peacekeepers were moving toward me, trying to restrain me. I shook them off and yelled out again. "I volunteer!" My hands were shaking, so I balled them into fists by my sides. "I volunteer as tribute!"

All color drained from Rye's face. He looked like someone had shot him. "Peeta, no."

I walked up to him. "Go find Dad."

He grabbed my arm. "You can't do this."

I yanked my arm away. "I have to." I left Rye behind and held my chin up as I walked up the steps to take my place beside Effie. Up close, the makeup plastered on her face made her look even more ghastly than she had appeared from afar.

"Well, what a twist!" she chirped. "What's your name, dear?"

I leaned down toward the microphone. "Peeta Mellark." I was pleasantly surprised with how strong my voice sounded.

Effie gave me what I think was supposed to be a sympathetic look, though it looked completely fake and wrong. "I'll bet my hat that was your brother."

I swallowed. "Yes, ma'am."

Effie turned back toward the crowd and clasped her hands together. "There we have it, folks! Never a dull moment here in District 12, am I right?" Silence. "Well, can we get a round of applause for this year's tributes!"

Instead of the begrudged applause our tributes were usually met with, something beautiful happened. At once, as if on cue, the citizens of District 12 took the three middle fingers of their left hand, brought them to their lips and held them out to us in a type of salute. It was an old tradition, typically used at funerals. It meant thank you. It meant goodbye.

To Effie's credit, she only let this frazzle her for a moment, then she regained her composure. "Wasn't that something? Now you two, shake hands."

I turned to Katniss and clasped her small hand in mine. I looked into the terrified gray eyes of the girl to whom I owed my life. Her hand in mine was damp with sweat. I knew in that moment what I had to do. If it was a life I owed her, then it was a life I would repay her. I would do everything in my power to make sure that if I wasn't coming out of these games alive, Katniss Everdeen sure as hell was.

As if sensing my thoughts, Katniss gave my hand a small squeeze before letting it fall.

The moment we released our grip on each other's hands, two peacekeepers came out and ushered us into the Justice Building like cattle being led to slaughter. I couldn't help but glance over my shoulder to catch one last glimpse at Katniss before we were led into two different rooms. The last thing I saw before the large wooden doors closed in front of me, was Katniss's signature braid swinging behind her.

The doors closed with a resounding boom, and I immediately sank to my knees, the tears I had been holding back finally being released. What had I done? I knew I had to save Rye, but could I kill the girl who had saved my life in order to come home to my family? I couldn't do it. I knew in my heart that I couldn't. But what if it came down to the two of us? Could I do it then? I didn't know.

I wanted to run, flee to the woods where I felt safe and at home. I grasped at the pendant hanging from my neck, a last minute thing I had remembered just before I left. I was glad I had it now, for I would need this reminder of home if I was going to make it through the weeks to come.

After allowing myself a minute to drown in my tears, I composed myself as much as I could and walked across the room to sit on the plush, velvet couch. I took deep breaths, trying to steady myself. I wouldn't let my family see me cry. I wanted them to remember me strong.

Not a minute later, the doors opened and my father burst in, Chibs helping Rye behind him. "Dad," I choked out.

My dad wrapped his arms around me, so tightly I could hardly breathe, but I didn't care. "I am so proud of you," he whispered to me. "You are so brave. Thank you, Peeta. Thank you."

I squeezed him tighter before pulling back to look him in the eye. "I'm coming home," I promised. "This is not goodbye."

My dad gave me a sad smile, clapped me on the shoulder, and stepped aside for Chibs to have his turn. Chibs and I had never been incredibly close. He abandoned our family the moment he was old enough to be done with the Reaping and work in the mines. I knew that it was only because he took Mom's death the hardest, but the memory of the starving boy I was couldn't help but be bitter.

That was why I was incredibly surprised when I saw his eyes shining with unshed tears. He hugged me nearly as tightly as my father had. "You come home, Peeta. You're smart, and strong. You're a survivor. You're going to come home," he commanded.

I pulled back to look him firmly in the eyes. "Dad can't do it alone," I hissed. "He needs you. Do you understand?"

He nodded. "I'll take care of him." He gave me an equally firm look. "You just take care of you."

I gave a weak smile. "Hey, if drunk-ass Haymitch can win the Hunger Games, why can't I?"

Chibs shook his head and stepped aside to let Rye come forward. I'm not sure what I expected from Rye, but it sure wasn't the anger I received. "How could you," he spat. "How could you do that to me?!"

"Rye," I tried to reason with him.

"No!" Rye, who covered his emotions with sarcasm, bottled everything deep inside, and always joked that a man who cried was no man at all, had tears pouring down his flushed cheeks. "I'm your big brother! I'm supposed to take care of you, not the other way around! If you don't come home, it's all my fault! I can't handle that. I can't have your death on my hands."

"I couldn't let you die," I whispered.

"I'm already dying, Peeta! I'm going to die whether or not I go into the games. You had your whole life ahead of you to meet a pretty girl, fall in love, and have a family! You're throwing that all away!"

I pulled Rye to me and let him sob into my shoulder. I held back my tears, trying to be strong. "I'm going to come home, Rye," I promised. "Then I'll be so rich, I can afford the medicine you need. We're both going to live. I promise."

The doors opened and a peacekeeper walked in. "Time's up."

Rye squeezed me tighter before letting go, Chibs grabbing his arm to help him walk. The crying wasn't good for his lungs, and his breaths were already getting dangerously shallow. "I love you guys!" I called after them.

Their responses were cut off by the clicking of the latch on the door.

I sank down on the couch and let my head fall into my hands. I had no idea if I could keep my promise to Rye, not if it came down to Katniss and me. But I wouldn't worry about that now. All I could do was focus on surviving one day at a time.

Another minute passed before the doors swung open again. Gale walked in and sat beside me on the couch. Our earlier fight was obviously forgotten. He was one of the least sentimental people I knew, so unsurprisingly he got right down to business. "You're good enough with a bow that you can probably kill with one shot. Show them how good you are and they'll be sure to put one at the cornucopia. You know plants and snares, so you won't go hungry. You're strong, too. You'll win any hand to hand combat, most likely."

With my family, I had to be strong, but with Gale, I could allow a little weakness to show through. "I don't know if I can do this, Gale."

He scoffed. "Sure you can. You're a survivor."

I shook my head. "That's not what I meant. These are people, Gale. How am I supposed to kill them?"

"You kill animals every day."

I gave him a hard look. "Animals. Not people, with emotions and families, praying that when their child comes home it won't be in a box."

Gale only shook his head. "Forget about all that. Just survive. That's all that matters."

I couldn't talk about this anymore. If I could make it through the games without killing a soul, I would. But if it were to come down to me or someone else . . . "Don't let my family starve. Please."

"You know I won't."

A peacekeeper stepped through the door. "Time's up."

"Thank you, for everything over the years."

Gale's lips quirked up in a small smile. "Just come home, Peeta." With that, he clapped my shoulder and followed the peacekeeper out the door.

I didn't expect to have any visitors after that, considering I didn't really know anyone else very well. In school, I had mostly stuck with Rye and Gale. However, a few moments later the doors opened again, and Mrs. Everdeen walked in.

She took a moment to quietly observe my room before muttering, "Interesting."

I could only stare at her. "Excuse me?"

Her lips were turned up slightly at the corners, though the smile came nowhere near reaching her eyes. "Your room, I mean. It's identical to the one Katniss is in."

I wasn't sure how to respond, so I stayed quiet.

Mrs. Everdeen walked over to the couch and took the spot that Gale had vacated only moments before. "I'm not sure how much time we have, so I'll just get to the point. I want to make a deal with you."

"A deal?" I questioned.

She nodded. "I know that if it weren't for your hunting, then your family would have to nearly starve in order to afford Rye's medicine, so if you agree to not kill my daughter, then I will give Rye his medicine for free."

Free? I was stunned, and it took me a minute to remember how to speak. "I appreciate your offer, ma'am, don't get me wrong, but why would you want to do that? I've never done anything for you. Besides, I'm not sure I could kill my district partner."

Mrs. Everdeen smiled again. "My reasoning is my own business, and currently irrelevant. Though I'm glad to hear that you don't want to kill my daughter, I'd still like to give you some motivation to preserve that thought. So, do we have a deal?"

How could I refuse? "Of course. Thank you."

Mrs. Everdeen stood and began to leave, even though we still had more time. Half way across the room, she turned back to me. "One more thing. If you don't make it out of the arena, I'll do my best to charge your family as little as possible. I can't promise free, but I'll do what I can."

Now not only do I owe Katniss, but I owe her family as well. "Thank you."

At the door Mrs. Everdeen turned around again. "I want you to know that if Katniss can't win, I would want it to be you." With that, she walked out the door and I was alone with my thoughts.

I was terrified to go into these games. I knew in my heart that I couldn't kill Katniss, not only because of my deal with her mother, but because I couldn't live with myself if I did. It wasn't in me to kill anyone. Sure, I could handle killing an animal in order to put food on the table for my family, but people? People, who cried, and laughed, and had their own families to protect. How could I kill them, these twenty-three children I would be facing?

The answer came to me immediately: I couldn't. It just wasn't who I was. If I didn't have Rye to come home to, I knew I would be fine dying in that arena, because I would gladly die myself before changing who I was in order to survive.

There were so many emotions swelling within me as I came to this conclusion. Fear. Sadness. More fear. But more than anything, I was angry. Angry that the Capitol forced children to go through the emotional turmoil that was the games. Angry that in order to simply come home to my family, I would be asked to murder. Angry that the Capitol had this power over me, the power to change who I was. But I wouldn't let them. If I was coming out of these games, I would still be the person that I was when I went in. I was not a pawn for the Capitol to play with and use as entertainment. I was a human being, and I would show them that I was not just a piece in their games.

**XXXXXXX**

**Thank you for reading everyone! I know this chapter may have been a tad predicatable, with the two of them being reaped, but hopefully I kept it interesting enough! Please let me know what you thought in the reviews! Next update should be next weekend :)**

**Love always,**

**YesIWriteForFun**


	3. Our Mentor

**Hey guys! thank you all so much for the reviews, follows and favorites last chapter! This chapter is a little shorter, but we have a Peeta/Katniss meeting! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. All rights go to Suzanne Collins.**

**XXXXXXX**

I sat alone in the plush room of the Justice Building for another fifteen minutes or so before the same peacekeeper that had been overseeing my goodbyes came back into the room. He wore a helmet with a tinted visor, regardless of the fact that we were inside, so it was impossible to see his face. However, I could tell by his stance that he kept his gaze just above my head as he spoke to me. "Time to go."

I stood and took a deep breath, preparing myself as best I could for whatever I was soon going to be facing. Then, I picked up my chin, pushed my shoulders back, wiped my face of all emotion and followed the peacekeeper out the door. As we walked to the train station, I took in my surroundings with more observance than usual. It occurred to me that there was a chance that this would be my final opportunity to look at the home I grew up in.

I wondered for a moment if I knew this peacekeeper who was charged with the task of ushering me off to my possible death. I had seen many of them around the hob, traded with them, even befriended some. Was this peacekeeper one of them?

I got my answer when we reached the platform that led to the train. The platform was covered in cameras, save for a slim pathway that led directly to the train's door and was only wide enough for one person. The peacekeeper stopped walking, and it appeared I would be continuing this journey alone.

I made my move to step past the peacekeeper, but froze when they placed a firm hand on my arm. I stared into my own face as it was reflected back at me in their tinted visor. The peacekeeper gave my arm a squeeze, nodded their head once and then let my arm drop back to my side. I may not have known who this peacekeeper was, but they knew me.

I allowed a grateful smile to become my features for only a moment before again transforming my face into a mask devoid of all emotion as I stepped out onto the platform. The cameras followed my every step as I moved across the wooden deck.

Just before my feet transitioned from the worn wood to the solid, shimmering metal of the train, I paused and took one final look around me. Possibly the final look I would ever get at the place I grew up, the place I called my home. Satisfied with what I saw, I took the final step. There was definitely no going back now. I was officially on Capitol grounds.

I took a few more steps into the train. The car I found myself in appeared to be a type of sitting room. There were large couches, made of brightly colored fabric. The carpet beneath my feet was so thick and plush that I could actually feel my feet sink down into it with each step I took. The walls were covered in a paneling of wood that was probably more expensive than all the wood in my entire house combined. Taking up nearly the entire expanse of the far wall was a television. To top it all off, a chandelier with what looked like real diamonds hung delicately from the ceiling.

The car was lavish, lush, and by far the most disgusting thing my eyes had ever seen. Which was saying a lot, considering all the animals I had gut over the years.

The Capitol had all this money that they blew on things as irrelevant as a train car. And this train was only used to ship us cattle of District 12 to the Capitol. I couldn't even imagine what rooms of more important Capitol citizens were like compared to this.

There were children starving in the districts, and instead of using a fraction of their money to help them, the Capitol threw money away on such material things. The room couldn't have disgusted me more had it been decorated in vomit.

"Peter!" chirped an overenthusiastic voice from behind me.

I turned around to find Effie standing in the doorway of the train. "Um, it's Peeta, ma'am," I corrected.

Effie's bright pink lips sank into a frown. "Oh, of course. My apologies!"

I considered just ignoring the annoying, dimwitted woman, but shockingly she seemed to be genuinely bothered by her slip up. Plus, I'm sure she was going to have a hand in getting me sponsors, so I thought better of getting on her bad side. "It's alright, ma'am. People make the mistake all the time."

Effie's lips quickly changed direction as they turned upward instead. "Oh, dear, please, call me Effie. We'll be spending quite a bit of time together in the coming days, so there is no need to be so formal!"

I gave her an appreciative nod. "Thank you, Effie."

It was hard to tell with all the makeup smeared onto her face, but I'm pretty sure that Effie actually blushed. She cleared her throat lightly before speaking. "Well, Peeta, I'll show you to your room." She stalked off into another car, not turning around to see if I followed, and continued talking. "The train ride to the Capitol will only take about a day. By this time tomorrow you'll be in the luxurious Capitol! Oh, my dear, I promise that you will love it! The food is divine, and the accommodations make your district look like a dump!" She glanced at me over her shoulder. "No offense."

My eyes narrowed to slits as I plastered a fake smile on my face. "None taken," I bit out through clenched teeth.

"Well! Here we are!"

We were standing before a closed door, though I wasn't sure how to open it. It had no door handles that I could see, no knobs to turn or handles to pull. I was just about to push on it to see if it swung free on its hinges when Effie pressed a small button next to it and it slid open.

I stepped inside and took in my surroundings. The room was nearly as atrocious as the first car had been, though in place of the brightly colored couch was a bed that was nearly the size of Rye and I's bedroom back home.

Effie came and stood beside me. "Quaint, I know, but it's only for one night."

I turned to Effie with the same false smile on my lips. "It will do just fine. Thank you."

Effie beamed. "Oh! So polite! Well, I'll let you get settled in while I show Katniss to her room. Take the time to get freshened up. We dine in a half hour."

Before I could respond, Effie's heels were already clicking away. I ran my hand along the sides of the doorframe, trying to find a similar button to the one Effie had pushed so that I could close the door. It took me a good minute to find it, but eventually I did, and the door slid shut noiselessly. I had a half hour to myself, not that I really wanted to be alone. Being alone led to thinking, which led to a constant stream of 'what if's. So, as quickly as I could, I stripped out of my father's old, too small clothes and put on the least offensive Capitol provided ones I could find – a pair of black pants and a blue button up shirt. I kept on the mockingjay necklace, needing that reminder of home close to me.

I found the button to open the door much quicker this time, and soon I was making my way back through the train. I wasn't exactly sure where the dining car was, but I figured retracing my steps was a good place to start.

I walked through the doorway that led to the sitting room, expecting to find it empty. Instead, I found Katniss, still in her blue dress, sitting in an arm chair. She stared vacantly at a wall, her eyes haunted.

I cleared my throat, trying my best not to startle her, but she still jumped at the sound. "Oh," she said. "I didn't know you were there."

My lips twitched in what I had meant to be a reassuring smile, though it fell flat. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Her gaze returned to the wall, and there was an uncomfortable silence. I cleared my throat again. "May I sit with you?"

Katniss spared me only a fleeting glance before returning to her staring contest with the wall. She nodded.

I sat down in the armchair that was beside hers. It didn't appear as though she was going to break the silence anytime soon, so I spoke instead. "I didn't want to be alone," I admitted. Katniss didn't respond, yet I felt the sudden urge to explain myself to her. "When I'm alone, there's nothing to distract me from my thoughts, and I really don't want to hear them. They're . . . not pleasant."

Katniss still didn't look at me, but I saw recognition flash in her eyes. "I know what you mean."

Another pause of pregnant silence. "Have you met Effie?" That was a stupid question. Of course she had met Effie.

Katniss nodded.

"She's something else, right? A little much, but she seems nice – sort of."

Katniss glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, and I think I saw a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Something else," she repeated. "That's one way to put it."

Suddenly there was a rapid clinking noise followed by a high pitched, "Dinner is served!"

I stood and muttered, "Speak of the devil." I offered Katniss my hand, but she stood on her own, ignoring me completely.

We both followed Effie into the adjacent dining room, where a lavish meal was spread out along a long table. There was chicken covered in all different kinds of sauces, rolls, stews, soups and many other things I couldn't even name.

"Wow," I couldn't help but breathe.

Effie took a seat at the table. "I know," she sighed. "We have limited resources on the trains. I promise the meals at the capital will be much more to par."

Katniss, who, I assume as in shock as I had been, had remained standing beside me, snorted very indelicately. The contrast to her gesture and the overall air Effie reveled in, was enough to break the tension in the air. But when Effie gasped in horror, it was simply too much and I couldn't help but burst out in a fit of laughter. Katniss laughed lightly beside me.

Effie gave us both scalding glares. "I don't know what you both find funny. You may have better manners than previous years' tributes, but you both have a long way to go if you want to get any sponsors."

The mention of the games sobered us both immediately. We quietly took our seats at the table and filled our plates with whatever looked the safest.

After a few minutes of eating in silence, I spoke up. "Where's Haymitch?" I asked Effie.

She sniffed with disdain. "I believe he's taking a _nap_." The way she said "nap" made it very clear that it was more likely he was passed out drunk.

"Isn't he supposed to be mentoring us?" Katniss asked, her eyes narrowed with anger.

Effie took a painfully long time to finish chewing before she answered. "Well, yes, as the only living victor of District 12, he is your mentor."

"So when does the mentoring start?" I asked, beginning to lose my patience.

Now Effie looked slightly uncomfortable. "Well, it's hard to say. I mean, he does things differently every year." She refused to meet either of our gazes, and she was very obviously avoiding the question.

Katniss slammed her water glass on the table. "You mean to tell us that he doesn't _actually_ do any mentoring, does he?"

"Miss Everdeen, it is not that simple-"

"Does he?" Katniss insisted.

Effie blotted her lips with her napkin and cleared her throat before she responded. "No, typically he is much too drunk to do any mentoring."

Katniss stood and pushed her chair back violently. "Not this year. Where's his room?" She began stalking off across the room without waiting for a response.

Effie and I stood as well. "Miss Everdeen, this does not seem appropriate!"

I hurried to follow after her, just squeezing through the compartment door before it closed.

"Katniss, wait!" I said.

She spun around to face me. "Are you seriously about to stop me? Do you not care if you live? Because he is supposed to be helping us. It isn't fair-"

"Katniss," I said, cutting her off. "I'm not here to stop you. I'm here because he's my mentor too, and I thought you might need a little help."

Katniss narrowed her eyes at me, appearing to appraise me, but it was clear I had actually caught her off guard. "Fine," she said at last. "But don't get in my way."

"Wouldn't dream of it," I shot back.

**XXXXXXX**

**Uh oh, what are they getting themselves into? Thanks everyone for reading! Hope you liked the chapter. Next one will be a confrontation with Haymitch. Bad news, no update next weekend because I'll be away on a school trip, but the weekend after that I will be back! Promise! Please let me know what you thought with a quick review! :)**

**Love always,**

**YesIWriteForFun**


	4. Fighters

**I'm back everybody! Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews and the follows and favorites! You guys are seriously the BEST! This chapter is a bit shorter and a bit of a filler, but I thought it would be best to split it up from the next one, so sorry in advance!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.**

**XXXXXX**

It took us a few tries to find the right door, but eventually we found Haymitch's room. It was extremely dim, the curtains all drawn shut and the lights off. I'm not sure how – he had only been on the train for a few hours – but the room smelled foul as well. After a minute of searching, Katniss found the light switch and flipped it on. Finally we could see Haymitch. He was sprawled out across his bed, his sheets tangled and stained with who knows what, and a bottle of whiskey dangling from his hand.

Katniss was standing beside me now, her hands planted on her hips and her eyes glaring daggers at our "mentor". She stalked over to him and gave him a hard shove. "Wake up." He didn't stir. She shook him harder. "Haymitch, get up." Still nothing.

"Let me try," I said. Katniss said nothing, but backed away to allow me to step over to Haymitch. I searched around the room for a glass, but it appeared Haymitch preferred to drink straight from the bottle. Instead, I grabbed a flower vase, dumped the flowers onto the floor and filled it with icy water from the bathroom. When I returned, I stood with it poised over Haymitch. "Here goes nothing," I muttered.

I dumped the water on Haymitch's head and it instantly did the trick. He jumped out of bed, blindly swinging a knife I hadn't known he was holding. I just barely jumped out of the way in time to keep him from slashing me across the stomach.

After another minute of him spluttering and swinging blindly, Haymitch finally calmed down enough to realize what was going on. "What the hell is wrong with you two?!" he bellowed. "You got a death wish or something?!"

"Actually, quite the opposite," I said. "That's why we're here. You're our mentor, now start the mentoring."

Haymitch glared between the two of us. "You're kidding, right?"

I glanced at Katniss. As tough as she had been talking earlier, she now seemed to be at a loss for words. I spoke up again. "No, we're pretty serious. We want to make it out of this arena alive, and, like it or not, it is your job to help us. So, are you going to do your job or are you going to keep laying in your own filth like some kind of animal?"

Haymitch gave me a dangerous look and took a menacing step toward me. He leaned forward until he was right in my face, close enough that the alcohol on his breath overpowered my senses. "You really want to live kid, then I suggest you bite your tongue and never pull a stunt like that again."

I had a response on the tip of my tongue when Katniss reached out a hand and shoved Haymitch away from me. "He's right, you're supposed to help us survive, now I suggest you start doing your job," she spat at him.

Haymitch took a step back so that he could glare at both of us. We all stood in silence for a good while, locked in an intense stare, before Haymitch finally broke into a small grin. "I'll be damned," he said. "Looks like I actually got some fighters this year."

"We want to live," I repeated.

Haymitch's smile dropped. "Yeah, I got that." He ran a hand down his face. "Look, you want my advice? Fine, I promise I'll stay sober enough to help you kids out."

I felt the tension release from my shoulders, but it didn't last long before Haymitch spoke again.

"Only on one condition."

Katniss folded her arms across her chest. "And that would be?"

Haymitch gave us a firm look. "You both stay out of my business. If I want to get drunk one night, you let me. And you sure as hell never dump another pitcher of ice water on my head."

Katniss and I exchanged a glance. Her expression seemed doubtful, but what other choice did we have? I had a feeling that that was the best we would be getting out of Haymitch. I turned back to Haymitch. "Deal. When do we start?"

"Not right this second, kid. Relax. Let me get cleaned up and I'll meet you both out in the dining car."

With that, Katniss and I walked out of his compartment, leaving him be. Once we were back in the hallway that led to the dining car, Katniss brushed a hand to my arm. "Peeta," she said.

I stopped and turned toward her.

"I, um, just wanted to say…" she trailed off.

"Just wanted to say what?"

Katniss stared at me for another moment. When she spoke, her tone had changed completely, suddenly defensive and cold. "I just wanted to remind you that only one of us can come out of those games, and I think it would be best if we both kept that in mind."

I felt my jaw clench at the sudden harsh tone in her words. What was _with _her? One minute she had been all blazing anger, then she had frozen up in front of Haymitch, now she was fiery tempered again? "Trust me," I said, "I know." Then I spun on my heel and stormed back into the dining car.

A minute later Katniss followed and once again took her seat beside me. I was trying to ignore her, but it was pretty hard to ignore how her hand shook as she reached for her water glass. Effie was no longer anywhere to be found, and the tension in the air was so thick I could feel it practically suffocating me. After a few minutes I could no longer bare it. I turned on her. "Do you have a problem with me or something?"

Katniss looked genuinely taken aback. "I'm sorry?"

"I mean, one second you're totally calm, then the next you're screaming at me. I mean, I know we're going into the games soon, but we're from the same district, we're supposed to be allies. What did I ever do to make you so mad at me? Was it because I never thanked you?" I didn't mean to say the last part, but I guess it was my guilty conscious shining through.

"Thank me? For what?"

Embarrassed, I wanted nothing more than to look away and change the subject. But I held my gaze with her. "For saving my life," I clarified, my voice gentler. "I never thanked you."

"When did I…? Wait, you mean when we were kids? And I gave you some spare bread? I would hardly call it saving your life."

"Well I would, and I never thanked you for it. So, thank you."

Katniss looked down at her water glass again. "You're welcome."

We sat in silence for another minute until I couldn't hold in my question anymore. "If that isn't it, then what is?"

Katniss looked at me, her mouth open to respond, but before she could, the door to the compartment opened, and Haymitch walked in. We both turned toward him expectantly. I had a questioned poised on my tongue, but before I so much as even opened my mouth, he held up a hand. "I'll answer your questions, but first, let me get a cup of coffee."

We both watched him impatiently as he took his time, pouring a cup, placing in it two lumps of sugar, a dash of milk, then finally he sat down. I opened my mouth to ask my question, but he held up a finger to stop me. He blew at the steam rising from the top, took a slow sip, and set his cup down. Leaning back in his chair, he said, "So, what can you do? Other than mouth off, I mean."

We glanced at each other out of the corners of our eyes, both unsure exactly what he was asking.

With an exasperated sigh, Haymitch clarified. "What are you _good_ at? What talents do you have that might be helpful in surviving the games?"

I cleared my throat. I'd always been uncomfortable bragging about myself, but he had to know everything in order to help us. "I can shoot. A bow and arrow, I mean."

Haymitch rose an eyebrow at me. "Really? You learn that from one of your Seam friends?"

I looked down at my hands. I broke the law every time I went under that fence, and again every time I picked up my bow. And by admitting I knew how to shoot, I had just confessed as much to Haymitch.

Haymitch shook his head. "Don't worry about it, kid. Once you get into the games they won't care how you learned to shoot, they only care about good entertainment. Now, how good are you?"

I shrugged. "I'm decent."

Katniss scoffed beside me.

Haymitch turned his gaze on her. "You got something you want to say, sweetheart?"

Katniss didn't look at me as she spoke. "He's much better than decent. We trade for his squirrels, and he shoots them right through the eye. Every time."

Haymitch nodded. "Not bad. Anything else?"

I shook my head, but Katniss spoke up again. "He won the wrestling match at our school the last two years."

I glared at her. "I can speak for myself, thank you very much."

Katniss returned my look with just as much malice. "Apparently you can't, or else you would be telling him everything."

"He doesn't care that I won a wrestling match against a bunch of untrained, starving kids," I shot back.

"Will you two shut up?" Haymitch spat. "Now, I don't know what the hell is going on between you two, but you better figure it out!" He closed his eyes and took a slow sip from his coffee. "Now," he said, much more calm. "What about you, sweetheart? You got any tricks up your sleeves?"

She hesitated, clearly not as willing to brag about herself as she was me. Finally, she said, "I can throw knives."

Haymitch looked doubtful. "Really?" She nodded. "Care to prove it?"

Katniss picked up a steak knife and backed away from the table until she was as far from the opposite wooden wall as she could be. She took a slow, steady breath, then, with one delicate flick of her wrist, the knife soared across the room and embedded itself between two boards.

Haymitch and I couldn't help but stare. Katniss was a very petite girl. If someone didn't know her and how strong her tongue was, they would probably even describe her as fragile. But there was no doubt that, had it been a person she was throwing that knife at and not a wall, that knife would be hilt deep in their chest.

"Now I _know_ you didn't learn that in town, sweetheart."

Katniss took her seat again, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. "My father taught me." She glanced at me. "He used to go out in the woods when he was growing up. He knew how to hunt, but he stopped when he met my mom."

Haymitch was nodding. "Knife throwing is a good skill to have, but its range is pretty limited. You got anything else?"

She was shaking her head no, and before I could stop myself, I spoke up. "Her mother owns the apothecary shop. She knows every plant out there. Even how to make some medicines."

Katniss rolled her eyes. "That won't help me win the games, Peeta."

"You never know," I shot back.

"He's right," Haymitch added. "Every year, at least a few kids die from eating something they shouldn't, or infection. Knowing how to avoid those things can be what keeps you alive." Haymitch took another long, slow gulp from his coffee. "Now, there is obviously something going on here," he gestured between us "and I think we better figure it out. Soon. So, would either of you care to explain?" Neither of us spoke. "Come on now, don't be shy." Silence. "If you want my help, we need to figure out what the hell is going on, so one of you needs to open your damn mouths." Still nothing. Haymitch slammed his hand on the table. "That's it, Peeta, you go to your room, and I'll come get you when it's your turn. Katniss, you stay here. If you two won't talk in front of each other, hopefully you'll be more willing when you're separated."

I glanced at Katniss, unsure about this odd development. Her expression matched my uncertainty.

"Now, would be nice," Haymitch spat at me.

I stood quickly and took off toward the car where my compartment was located, glancing back over my shoulder once more before the door closed behind me.

**XXXXXX**

**So, for everyone who had been asking what Katniss' talent will be, there's your answer! What is the deal with Katniss? What is she telling Haymitch? Let me know what you thought in the reviews! I will do my absolute best to update next weekend, but I have a research paper to do, so no promises. As always, thank you guys so much for reading and I hope you loved it!**

**Love always,**

**YesIWriteForFun**


	5. I Want to Win

**Hey everyone! Finished my paper, so I am back! Thank you all so much for the reviews, follows and favorites! Over 100 follows now, woo hoo! This chapter is kind of short and a bit of a filler, so I apologize ahead of time, but we still have a bit of set up before things really get rolling. Anywho, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**

**XXXXX**

I had been sitting in my compartment for an hour, staring at the wall. At first I had paced, too nervous to sit still, wondering what on earth Katniss could be telling Haymitch. Was she telling him about the bread? Or did she assure him there really was no story between us? I couldn't stand going into situations blind, and this seemingly harmless chat with my mentor was no exception. Eventually though I had grown tired, so I sat on my bed and simply waited.

Finally, after a good hour and a half, there was a light knock on my door. I hurried over to open it, nearly tripping over my own feet in my haste. The door slid open to reveal Haymitch looking about a million times more sober than he had earlier. He didn't say anything, just turned, not even checking behind him to make sure that I would follow.

I hurried out the door after him. As I passed by Katniss' door, I couldn't help but pause for a second. What had she said that instantly sobered a man who had been living in a state of perpetual drunkenness since he had left the Games? There was no noise coming from the other side of the door, no signs as to what they had been speaking about, so I hurried to catch up to Haymitch knowing he was in no mood to wait around for me.

I walked into the dining car just as he was sitting back down at the table, a freshly steaming cup of coffee in front of him. I hesitated before sitting down, suddenly nervous and unsure of myself. I had been so worried about what Katniss was telling him, I had forgot to think about what I would tell him.

"We don't have all night, kid," Haymitch said, and, though I could have been imagining it, his voice was not nearly as gruff as normal.

I pulled out the chair across from him and sat. Haymitch was staring at me, seemingly waiting for me to take the lead. "I don't see how this is relevant," is all I gave him, my quiet tone taking any possible bite from my defiant words.

Haymitch narrowed his eyes at me. "You want me to help you as best as I can? Then I need to know everything. I need to know what we are getting ourselves into, and what we have to work with. So, speak up, or stop wasting my time, and I'll just dump all my resources into the girl."

I clenched my jaw to keep from saying something I would regret. "Fine," I said. "What do you want to know?"

Haymitch leaned back in his chair, his arms folded over his chest. "I wasn't born yesterday. I know there is more between you two than just being from the same district. I got her side of the story, now I want to hear yours."

I sighed. From his tone, it was pretty clear I wouldn't be getting to hear what "her side of the story" entailed. There wasn't really any way I could just work my way around the question. Besides, as much as I hated to admit it, Haymitch was right. We needed to tell him everything if we wanted his help. So I did just that. I told him the whole story, about Rye, my mother, how Katniss saved my life – twice – and I felt as though I owed her, and finally, I told him about the deal I made with Katniss' mother. "I want to win," I said after I got it all out, "but if it can't be me, I _need _it to be her."

Haymitch had the bridge of his nose pinched between his finger and thumb. "You damn kids, complicating everything," he muttered. After a minute, he pulled his hand away and looked me solemnly in the eye. "Sounds to me like you're a survivor, kid."

A small laugh escaped me, though it was lacking humor. "I guess you could put it that way. Personally, I prefer to think of it as me simply being stubborn."

I thought I saw a ghost of a smile cross his lips, but it was gone much too quickly to tell. He leaned forward across the table, his hands clasped in front of him. "Here's the thing, from here on out, this can go one of two ways. You two can either be coached together as a team and go into the games as a team, or you can be coached separately and have nothing to do with each other. Katniss gave me her choice, what's yours?"

I took a moment to process his words, consider both choices, but really, there was no choice at all. "I want her as my ally in the games. I owe her my life, and I want to keep her alive as long as I can."

He only nodded. "Good, you both chose the same thing. Makes this a hell of a lot easier. We'll start group coaching at breakfast tomorrow. For now, go get some sleep. You'll need all the rest you can get going into the Capitol tomorrow." When I apparently didn't provide the reaction to this he was looking for, he added, "I mean it. The Capitol is unlike anything you've ever experienced. Tomorrow will be one of the longest days of your life."

I cringed, nodded and stood to leave. Before I could get very far though, Haymitch's voice stopped me.

"One more thing, kid. You need to remember that you're going into the Hunger Games, with 23 other kids, most of whom are more than willing to kill to get out of there alive. You really want to make it back home to your brother, I suggest you drop these senses of duty and focus on just keeping yourself alive."

I was shaking my head before he even finished speaking. "I can't do that, Haymitch. I owe her too much."

Haymitch only shook his head. "Whatever you say, Peeta."

I turned and went back to my room, ready to go to sleep after the longest day of my life thus far.

I was almost at my door when I heard another one slide open behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to find Katniss standing in the hallway. She had changed out of the dress she wore to the Reaping and was now wearing plain, loose pants and a shirt, her hair braided down her back. Her arms were folded over her chest, and she kept shifting her weight between her feet.

"Hey," I said.

"Hi."

I waited for her to continue, but when it was clear she wasn't going to, I spoke up again. "How did it go with Haymitch?" I took a few steps closer to her. Up close it was obvious she had been crying recently, her eyes red and puffy. However, I felt like she wasn't the type to appreciate this being pointed out, so I kept my mouth shut.

"Fine," she said. "How about you?"

"Fine." Was this seriously all she stopped me for? A barely non-monosyllabic conversation? "I told him I think we should be coached together."

As soon as I saw the relief wash over her face, I realized the real cause for her stopping me. She was obviously worried that I wouldn't want to be coached with her. "Oh. Good," she said, feigning indifference, but her eyes betrayed her.

We sat there for a beat, staring at each other before I had to get it off my chest. "Katniss, I need to tell you – I really want to win. I _need_ to win. For Rye. But if I can't, if I die – " My voice breaks slightly. I clear my throat before continuing. "If I can't win, I want it to be you. And not just because you're my district partner, because you saved my life before, and I guess a life is the only way I can pay you back."

Katniss nodded. "Thank you."

There was a few moments of awkward silence, both of us unsure how to continue this conversation now that we had gotten out of it what we needed to. Finally, I said, "Well, I think we should both be getting to bed now. We have a rough couple days – or weeks, really – coming up." She nodded. "Good night, Katniss."

"Good night, Peeta."

I went back to the compartment, stripped off my shirt and pants, and collapsed into the bed. Within seconds, I was asleep.

**XXXXXXX**

I shot up in my bed the next morning, drenched in sweat. I had had a series of nightmares streaming through my mind the whole night. All of them shared one common theme: the Hunger Games. Some, I was being hunted by a career pack. In others, I was hunting the career pack. But the worst by far was the last one; I had shot an arrow straight through Katniss' heart.

I ran a shaky hand through my drenched locks and took a slow, calming breath. I still had a while before I was supposed to be at breakfast, so I decided to take a shower. It took me a while to figure out all the complicated buttons and dials, but eventually I got it to somewhat decent settings, though I wasn't able to stop the rose scented shampoo before it shot out into my hair.

I took my time in the shower, and again drying myself off and picking out clothes, but, despite my best efforts, I was still ready for breakfast a good forty-five minutes before I was due to meet everyone else. Sitting alone in my room with nothing but my thoughts didn't seem particularly appealing, so I decided to just head out into the dining car anyway. Who knew, maybe they would have some food out already.

The door to the dining car slid open, but instead of revealing the empty room I had expected, I found Katniss occupying the same seat she had the night before, a steaming cup in front of her as well as a plate of pastries and fruits. Though the rational side of my brain knew that her blood was only on my hands in my dream, the irrational side felt relief at the sight of her alive.

"Oh," I said, accidentally making Katniss jump and spin around to look at me. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." I walked over and took my seat beside her. "I didn't think anyone else would be up yet."

Katniss shrugged. "I couldn't sleep any longer. Have you tried this?"

So I wasn't the only one having nightmares. "Tried what?"

She gestured toward her steaming mug. "It's called hot chocolate, and it's delicious."

I gave it a suspicious look. I had tried some weird things when I had first started going into the woods, but somehow anything concocted by the Capitol seemed immensely more terrifying. "I'm not sure…"

She rolled her eyes. "Just try it," she said. She grabbed a mug and filled it with a thick, brown liquid from a pot on the table.

I took it cautiously, blowing gently on the steam. Still unsure, I took a small sip. But she was right; it was divine. "Wow," I breathed.

She laughed. "I told you so!"

I laughed too before taking another, larger sip. Her laughter was cut off by the sound of the compartment door sliding opening, and Haymitch stepped into the room. With one look at him, it was very clear he was not a morning person, regardless of his status of sobriety.

"Where's Effie?" I asked. Not that I was overly excited to see her again.

Haymitch pulled up a chair and took his time getting coffee before he answered. "She will be joining us in a little bit. I wanted to talk to you two alone first." He stood back up to fill his plate with an assortment of very dense and rich looking foods. When he sat back down, he began his lecture for the day. "You'll meet your stylists and your prep teams. I'm warning you now, you won't like it. You'll be poked and prodded like cattle, but whatever you do, don't protest or complain. Whatever kind of first impression you will make to the people of the Capitol – to possible sponsors – is completely in their hands. So you sit there with your mouth shut and you don't piss them off." He paused to give us each a pointed look. "I mean it. If you want to have a chance at getting any sponsors, it's best to stay on your stylists' good sides. Got it?"

I nodded. "We got it," Katniss said.

Haymitch still didn't look extremely convinced, but he continued on anyway. "Lucky for you two, neither of you are too hideous, so it shouldn't be that bad. Tonight will be the opening ceremonies, but most of that is out of my hands and into the hands of your stylists, so you better pray you got a decent pair." He took a sip of his coffee and began eating from the mountain of food piled onto his plate. When he noticed that we were still looking at him expectantly, he said, "That's it."

"That's it?" I questioned. "That's all the advice you have for us?"

He narrowed his eyes at me, an expression I was quickly growing used to. "For now, yes. It's only the first day, kid. Trust me, things will get more exciting soon."

Just then the door slid open, and Effie clicked her way into the room. "Good morning, everyone! We have a big, big day ahead of us, so eat up!"

"Speaking of exciting," Haymitch muttered, but Effie didn't seem to hear him.

**XXXXX**

**Big, big day coming up! Next chapter we are in the Capitol and we meet the stylists! Like I said, a bit of a filler, and the next one is too (sorry!) but then after that is the Opening Ceremonies and things will really start cruising then! Please leave a quick review and let me know what you think! Don't be afraid to leave constructive criticism either! I love hearing what you guys think!**

**Love Always,**

**YesIWriteForFun**


	6. Welcome to the Capitol

**SURPRISE! I stayed home sick today and got another chapter typed up, so I figured, why not give my lovely, loyal followers a suprise update? Thank you all so much fo rthe lovely reviews last chapter. I know I say that every time, but I really mean it. Every single one of them makes my day.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games**

**XXXXX**

_Rip!_ I cringed as another patch of hair was forcefully removed from my arm. After two hours of this unusual torture, I was beginning to understand why Haymitch had been so adamant that we keep our mouths shut. I wanted nothing more than to scream at the three sheep that my prep team was comprised of. They weren't actually all that bad, as far as Capitol citizens go, aside from their incessant babbling and the pain they inflicted.

I had been trying to hide my pain – how weak would I look if I was going into the Hunger Games, but I couldn't handle a little pain? – but apparently one of the women noticed my last cringe. "I'm sorry, darling. I promise it will all be worth it once you see how beautiful you will be!" she crooned in her high-pitched Capitol accent. I wasn't sure, but I thought she was Silvana. She was fairly short, only coming up to my chest when I stood beside her, and she had obviously had some kind of alterations made to her to make her chest, hips and butt unnaturally plump. The strips of her hair that weren't shaved down were a bright red, and her eyeshadow, lips and talons of nails were all colored to match. As unnatural as she looked, she wasn't even the worst of what I had seen since entering the Capitol.

When my and Katniss' train had first pulled up to the Capitol, we had been in awe. We had never seen buildings so large or new. Everything had shined and glistened. And then we saw the people.

They had been standing in crowds that extended far out of our range of sight, waving and jumping just to try to get a glance at this year's victims. It had been almost difficult to look into the crowd, the colors ranging from one end of the spectrum to the other, and even some that I hadn't even been sure were on the rainbow. But of course I hadn't hesitated to smile and wave, swallowing down the nausea rising in my stomach in order to try and possibly impress some sponsors. _Think of Rye, you promised Rye_, had become my inner mantra.

Katniss had hesitated a little longer before she finally raised her hand in a slightly less enthusiastic gesture. Though she had been smiling, her eyebrows had been knitted in distaste. She had spoken to me through the side of her mouth. "It's all so…"

"Fake?" I had supplied, though I maintained my smile.

Katniss had turned away from the window and instead looked at me. Her smile had faded slightly and she had nodded solemnly. Then we had both returned to our own falsities and smiled and waved until it hurt.

Another round of burning pain snapped me out of my reverie. "There! All done!" Silvana said.

Florian, the only male member of my prep team began cleaning up some of their supplies. Compared to Silvana, he almost looked normal. He couldn't have been out of his twenties, and his shaved head was covered in all sorts of vibrant, swirling tattoos. To top off his look, his bottom lip was lined in several small, silver hoop piercings.

Silvana rubbed some kind of ointment on my arms that did wonders for the lingering burning sensations. Once that was finished and everything was put away, Albany, the final – and my favorite – member of my prep team said, "Portia will be in momentarily. You did wonderfully."

I nodded. "Thank you, you are all very talented. I am honored to have you as my prep team." The words left a foul taste in my mouth as I said them, and my smile felt entirely too forced, but I knew that my life would be so much easier if I could get them to like me.

Silvana beamed and even giggled. "Darling, you are too much!"

"No, no," I insisted. "I mean it."

Florian rolled his eyes, though I couldn't tell if it was at me or Silvana.

Albany, however, just gave me a faint smile before shuffling the three of them out of the room. Albany was _definitely_ my favorite. Not only was she much quieter than the other two, but she almost looked like any other person. Her hair was dyed gold, but in faint lighting it simply appeared blond. Other than that the only characteristics to distinguish that she was Capitol born were her long nails and an apple tattoo on her right cheek. If I was being honest, she was actually quite pretty.

In order for my prep team to "work their magic" I had been stripped naked, only allowed to place on a thin robe at a select few points in my preparation process. Now, I sat naked on a metal table with the robe beside me. I wasn't exactly shy when it came to nudity, but I was fairly cold, so I decided to slip the robe back on.

When my stylist – Portia – came through the door, I was instantly grateful I had. Portia was tall, possibly taller than me, and extremely thin. Her skin was a milk chocolate color and her golden brown hair haloed her face in wild curls. Like Albany, she appeared overall very normal, her only odd characteristic being gold tattoos snaking up her arms. Like I said, normally I really wasn't shy when it came to being naked, but there was something about Portia that made me reconsider in her presence. It was like she had a sort of innocence and kindness about her that made you not want to tarnish it. She almost reminded me of Katniss in this way.

She gave me a warm smile and stuck out a willowy hand. Every movement she made was swathed in grace. "Hello," she said, her voice only containing the slightest hint of an accent. "I'm Portia, your stylist."

I shook her hand, fearful that my large hands would break her seemingly fragile one. "Pleasure to meet you."

She smiled again, though this time it didn't reach her eyes. "I think we both know that isn't true. I am terribly sorry that you have to be here."

I was stunned into silence for a moment before I could regain my composure. "You are?" I asked as she walked to a side table and retrieved my clothing.

She came back and set them on the table. "Yes. I'll step out while you redress if you'd like."

I nodded appreciatively, and she stepped outside the door, pressing a button so it slid shut behind her. I hurriedly pulled back on my pants and shirt, then called out, "You can come back in, if you'd like."

Portia stepped back inside a moment later with a warm smile. "There, now that you are more comfortable, we can really get started." I was about to ask her what she meant, but she continued on before I could. "I saw your reaping. Was that your brother?"

I nodded, completely caught off guard by my unorthodox stylist.

"Well, you are very brave, Peeta Mellark. A boy as brave as you needs to make an entrance that will leave people breathless. You see, people here don't see bravery like that. They like to focus on the physical sides of things. So, our goal is to capture your bravery in the Opening Ceremonies tonight so that the Capitol citizens will see it too." She smiled again and placed a hand lightly on my back to lead me to a sitting area on the other side of the room. "You must be famished," she said. "How about some lunch?"

"That would be great, thanks."

She pressed a few buttons on the table, then the table slid down into a hole that had opened in the floor. A few moments later, it reappeared, covered in all kinds of food, from chicken, to stew and even chocolate covered strawberries.

"Wow," I breathed.

The seemingly ever-present smile remained on Portia's face, but something shifted in her eyes. "The technology here must take some getting used to."

I chuckled. "You can say that again. Tell me, do I still smell like roses?"

Portia laughed, a light twinkling sound. "If you do, I can't say that I noticed."

Now I chuckled. "Good, I was a bit worried after my battle with the shower on the train."

We finished our meal in a comfortable silence before Portia spoke again. "Now, Cinna – Katniss' stylist – and I already have a pretty good idea for your costumes tonight, but we want to take into account both of your personalities, add a few touches to fit them and such. So, Peeta, let's chat."

I wasn't exactly sure what she meant by "chat" so I figured I would just start with the basics. "Is this your first year?" I asked. "I haven't seen you before."

She nodded. "Yes, Cinna and I both began this year."

"So they stuck you with the loser district," I said with understanding.

Portia tilted her head with slight confusion. "No, of course not. It wasn't like that at all. We requested District 12."

It was my turn to be confused. "Why on earth would you want to do that?"

"We both became stylists for two reasons: we love it, and we want to make a difference. What better place to make a difference than District 12?"

"But you won't make as much money." I had heard once that the career districts even paid their stylists more. They really rigged it in any way they could.

Portia gave me a smile that made me feel much younger than my sixteen years. "Peeta, neither Cinna nor I are here for the money."

I shook my head. "I guess my view is just skewed." I would give anything for a couple extra bucks.

Portia reached out and touched my hand. "I am so sorry. Here I am babbling on about how money isn't important when I am sure you are not in the same situation as I am."

Portia was definitely unlike any other Capitol citizen. She was so understanding and sincere, it was almost like she wasn't even really from the Capitol. If any other Capitol citizen had said that to me, I would have been shaking with fury, but with Portia, somehow I knew she was being genuinely kind, and was truly sorry for her slip-up. I gave her a reassuring smile. "It's fine. Really. But yes, I believe we are in about as different situations as possible."

Portia looked uncomfortable. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but you don't seem…Well, I've seen some other kids come in here and you seem a bit more…"

"Healthy?" I supplied, trying to ease her discomfort. "Well fed?"

Portia's cheeks turned rosy as she nodded. "I'm sorry, that was awfully rude of me."

"It's fine, truly." I debated whether or not I should tell her about my illegal activities, but then thought, what the hell. It isn't like they can do anything worse to me. "I haven't always been this way, but I've been going into the woods and hunting since I was twelve. It isn't a lot, but it is enough to keep my family's bellies full, which is more than almost every other family in my district can say."

Portia appeared pensive. "That is very brave. What about before you started hunting?"

"We starved nearly to the point of death," I said bluntly. "Well, all of us except for my brother."

"Why not your brother?"

"He's sick." I laughed without an ounce of humor. "Dying is a better word for it. Slowly, but dying nonetheless. We used to give him all our food because we knew he needed it more – not that he knew what we were doing."

I may have been mistaken, but I thought her eyes were glistening. "Is this the brother you volunteered for?" I could've sworn her voice was a little hoarse too. But that couldn't be right. Capitol citizens couldn't have cared less about children's deaths.

I nodded. "Yeah. That's Rye."

Portia reached across the table and gripped my hand. "You are so strong, Peeta Mellark. Truly."

I felt a lump rise in my throat at the gentle tone of her voice. It was a mother's tone. Embarrassed, I looked away and changed the subject. "I hope I helped. With the costumes, I mean."

Portia pulled away and stood up. "More than I could have hoped."

**XXXXX**

**So, what did you guys think of Portia? I have to say, I'm a little nervous to see what you guys think of her, becuase she is the character that I am taking the most liberties with, considering she is barely mentioned in the book. So, please please let me know what you think! Next chapter is the opening ceremonies, and I am very excited to share that one with you guys! Please let me know what you guys thought in the reviews, or drop a follow or a fav :) Thanks for reading!**

**Love always,**

**YesIWriteForFun**


	7. Star-Crossed

**Hey everyone! Late update, I know, and I am sorry. I thought I would have time to update before all the Easter craziness, but I ran out of time. But hopefully this chapter makes up for it! Thank you all so so much for the lovely reviews! They seriously make my day! So, anywho, enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games**

**XXXXX**

I looked at myself in the mirror, admiring the fitted, black full-body suit that Portia had dressed me in. "What do you think?" she asked as she placed a black crown on my head.

It was a little plain, if I was being honest, but compared to other years' costumes, I was seriously lucky. One year the tributes had been completely naked and covered in black powder made to look like coal dust. "It's great," I said noncommittally. "What is the personal touch you added? The crown?"

Portia gave me a hesitant smile. "Actually, I haven't added it yet. We have to wait until just before you and Katniss go out."

I turned around to face her. "Why?"

"Because it's fire."

I was silent for a moment, waiting for Portia to laugh at her joke and tell me what it really was, but her laughter never came. "Fire?!" I exclaimed. "Tell me you're joking!"

She put her palms up in a calming gesture. "It's synthetic, I promise. No heat, no danger, but it looks just like real fire. We wanted to capture the essence of both your and Katniss' bravery and strength, and what better way to show that than fire?" I must have still looked skeptical because she put her hands on my shoulders and looked me fiercely in the eye. "Peeta, please, trust me and Cinna. And if blind faith isn't enough for you, then keep in mind that if we killed or damaged our tributes in any way, the Capitol would have our heads."

I took a deep breath. She had a point. "Fine, I trust you."

Portia stepped back with a smile. "Good, because it's time to go." She placed a light hand on my back and led me down some winding hallways until we were out of the Remake Center completely and into a wide, covered space, filled with horse-drawn chariots and people milling about.

We continued on our way, garnering very few looks as we passed other tributes, until Portia stopped at a black chariot with matching black horses. "I'll be right back," Portia said. "I just need to find Cinna."

I walked over to one of the horses and placed my hand on its neck. I instantly felt its muscles tense under my touch. Then I noticed that it had blinders on, which had prevented it from seeing me approach it. "Shh, girl. It's alright," I whispered, stroking its neck gently. "I didn't mean to scare you." I could feel the animal slowly relax the longer I stood by it. "I feel bad for you, stuck here when all you probably want to do is run away." The horse neighed softly. "But I get it. Trust me, this is the last place I want to be."

"Peeta," Portia called from behind me. "It's time."

I walked back around the chariot to find Portia standing with some man – Cinna, I presumed – and Katniss. I was amazed at the sight of Katniss. She was dressed exactly the same as I was, her hair braided simply down her back and a black tiara on her head. But she looked healthy, healthier than she probably ever had looked. Of course her prep team would have to make her look healthier; sickly tributes – as much of a reality as it was – was far less fun for the Capitol to watch.

Katniss stood beside me. "What do you think of this whole fire thing?" she whispered as Portia and Cinna discussed something.

I laughed lightly. "Honestly? I'm pretty nervous."

"I'll rip off your cape if you rip off mine," she whispered. Her voice held a joking tone, but there was a frightened edge to it as well.

"Deal," I whispered just as Portia and Cinna turned toward us.

"Alright, District 1 just left so we better get moving," Cinna said. "Go ahead and step on the chariot, and we'll lite you guys."

I easily hopped onto the small platform, then extended a hand to help Katniss up as well.

"Alright, you ready Peeta?" Portia asked.

"As I'll ever be." I cringed, expecting to feel the heat burning my skin, or smell burnt flesh, but after a few moments of nothing, I peeked one eye open. Not only was my cape and head piece lit, but Katniss' was as well, and I couldn't feel a thing.

She was staring at me in awe. "They look so real," she murmured.

Cinna clapped his hands together behind us. "And you guys didn't trust us!"

Portia rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm. "We have to go get to our seats. Good luck you two!" With that, they were both scurrying away.

I then realized that I was still holding Katniss' hand. "Oh, sorry," I said, starting to pull away.

Katniss gripped my hand tighter. "No!"

I raised an eyebrow at her.

She cleared her throat and spoke again in a much calmer voice. "I mean, it's these shoes," she explained. I glanced down at her feet to see that Cinna had placed her in a small pair of heels, and she stood in them a bit unsteadily. "I've never worn heels before, and I'm afraid I'll fall off this thing." Her cheeks were rosy as she spoke, but then again, it could have just been the flame's reflection.

"Don't worry; I won't let you fall."

Soon we were moving out of the dark space and into the dimly lit open streets of the City Circle. At first people didn't seem to really notice us – after all, District 12 had never made much of an entrance before, why should they expect anything different this year? But then, slowly, people started to see us. Once people started to notice us, we were all people _could_ notice. They were screaming our names, District 12, and some people were even just plain screaming. They blew us kisses, waved, and reached out to us as though we were their last lifeline.

I waved back as much as I could, not feeling entirely comfortable enough to blow back any kisses. I was completely out of my element. Even waving felt uncomfortable, but I had to remind myself that these people were all potential sponsors.

Glancing down at Katniss, I found her gaze fixed on a television that was projecting our image. "We're beautiful," she breathed.

I flashed her a wicked smile before I yanked our entwined hands into the air. The crowd lost it.

Katniss turned to look at me with wide eyes. "What are you doing?" she cried.

I winked. "Getting us some sponsors."

It took her a while, but by the time we were stopped in front of the President's Mansion, Katniss had visibly relaxed. Though she still kept a firm grip on my hand.

I had too much adrenaline in my veins to focus on President Snow's speech, but it was hard to ignore the looks the other tributes were giving us. Some looked at us with jealousy, others with admiration, and some – mainly the careers – with blatant hatred.

Soon enough we were making our way back towards the Tribute Center and all the attention on us was once again favorable. Crowd members threw roses and continued their screams. For a moment or two, they even started chanting, "District 12".

Katniss was smiling and waving now, clearly more comfortable with the attention, though certainly nowhere near enjoying it.

Finally, after what felt like a hundred years, we were back where we began and I was helping Katniss off the chariot.

"Bravo!" Cinna exclaimed, clapping his hands.

I grinned ear to ear. "We did well then?"

Cinna doused our flames with some kind of aerosol, and Portia hugged me as soon as they were out. "You did marvelously!"

"Thank you," Katniss said to them. "You both made them love us."

Cinna shook his head. "No, we just made them notice you. _You_ made them love you."

Portia linked her arm through Cinna's. "He's right. Whose idea was it to hold hands? It was brilliant!"

Katniss and I exchanged a look, unsure how to answer the question. I was about to explain what happened when Haymitch came up and threw an arm over both our shoulders. "Mine. Thank you very much you two, you were wonderful, but if it's alright I think I better get these two kiddos off to bed." Without waiting for a response, he forcefully steered us both off toward the elevator. As soon as an empty one opened before us, he dumped us both inside unceremoniously.

We both stumbled so that we wouldn't face plant. "What the hell?!" I yelled. "What's your problem?"

Haymitch held up a hand. "Not one word from either of you until we get to our floor, got it?"

We nodded, though we were both still scowling.

As soon as the doors opened he grabbed each of us by the bicep and pulled us out and through a few hallways until he threw us onto a couch. "Do you have any idea what you two have done?"

I glanced at Katniss out of the corner of my eye to find her looking at me with just as much confusion as I was feeling. "Haymitch, what's going on?" she asked.

"Whose idea was it to hold hands?" he asked, ignoring her completely.

Katniss opened her mouth, presumably to take blame, but I spoke over her. "Neither of ours. It kind of just happened. Besides, the crowd loved it! What's the big deal?"

Haymitch gave me a look that actually made me cower back into the couch a bit. "The 'big deal' is that now you two have the whole Capitol thinking you two are a couple!"

"What?" I spat. "Because we held hands? That's ridiculous!"

"The Capitol sees what they want to see, kid."

Katniss stood up. "Okay, so we just make it obvious we aren't and that's the end of it."

Haymitch shook his head. "It isn't that simple, sweetheart. The Capitol is already in love with the idea of the 'star-crossed lovers of District 12'. There's no way to diffuse the situation without it hurting the popularity of the both of you and losing some of your sponsors."

I ran a tired hand over my face. "Okay, so now what?"

Haymitch flopped into the armchair across from us. "You keep up the act and milk it for everything it's worth."

"You want us to act like we're in love? How the hell are we supposed to do that?" I looked at Katniss for support, but she was staring at her hands in her lap.

"You should've thought of that before you got yourselves into this mess!"

I stood up and glared at Haymitch. "It isn't like we did it on purpose!"

Haymitch folded his arms over his chest. "So you were just being careless, reckless, and stupid." He snorted. "Thank you, that makes me feel so much better."

I was about to protest some more when Katniss stood and put a hand on my chest, effectively stopping me. "We'll do it," she told Haymitch. "Whatever you tell us, whatever we need to do to fix this we'll do it." She turned to me. "Right, Peeta?"

I clenched my jaw in frustration. I was still pissed at Haymitch, but I knew that not only did we need him, but fighting with him would get me nowhere. "Right. Whatever it takes."

Haymitch grinned cockily. "Good. We'll talk strategy in the morning, but for now, just get out of here. I'm sick of looking at you two."

We both turned and walked blindly out of the room. We stopped as soon as we were out of Haymitch's sight. "Do you have any idea where our rooms are?" I asked.

"No," she said. "But I'm not about to go back and ask him."

I looked around us, hoping to find some kind of hint or something. Instead I found an attendant standing stoically against a wall. "Excuse me," I said. "We aren't really sure where our rooms are. Could you help us please?"

She nodded and walked down a hallway, turned right once and gestured to the two rooms at the far end.

"Thank you," Katniss said, and the attendant turned and left without a word.

"That was odd," I said.

"What was?"

"She didn't say a word to us that whole time." Katniss looked at me a bit like I was stupid. "What?" I asked. "Do you know something I don't?"

She still looked at me a bit perplexed. "Don't you know? She's an avox."

I felt my cheeks burn slightly at my own stupidity. "I thought they were only a myth, used to scare us."

Katniss shook her head. "No, they are very much real."

"That poor girl," I murmured, looking off in the direction she had gone.

"Poor girl?" Katniss questioned. "If she's an avox then she was obviously a criminal."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you honestly believe the Capitol is always fair in their punishments? Especially considering where we are now – and why we are here?"

Now Katniss blushed. "I guess you're right. I didn't think about it like that." There was a minute of awkward silence, both of us standing in front of our respective doors, unsure how to proceed before Katniss spoke again. "I'm sorry," she said.

"For what?"

"For the mess I've gotten us into."

I shook my head. "Don't be. I'm the idiot that wanted to display our entwined hands to the whole country."

Katniss gave a faint smile. "Let's just agree we're both equally at fault here and move on."

I returned her smile. "Sounds good to me."

"Good night, Peeta."

"Good night, Katniss." With that, I watched her disappear into her room. Even knowing what a mess it had turned into, I could not find myself regretting holding up our entwined hands. Now all of Panem knows that Katniss and I are going into these games as a team, and one of us will be coming out. I could only hope it would be me.

**XXXXX**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know what you all thought of this chapter. I'm not going to lie, I am pretty nervous about how I am approaching the star-crossed lovers aspect of this. You will see it develope more in the next chapter (training!), but I hope I set it up pretty well here. Anyway, let me know what you guys thought or if you have any suggestions for how I could play this. Thank you all so much for reading and I'm sorry again for the late update!**

**Love always,**

**YesIWriteForFun**


	8. No Easy Target

**Wow. I SERIOUSLY LOVE YOU GUYS! Last chapter was by far the most reviewed, and we are one review away from reaching 100. Yay! Thank you all so much! Every single time I hear from you guys it makes my day! I just finished typing this chapter, and it is a long one, and I am pretty excited for you guys to read it! So I'll stop babbling now and let you guys get on to it!**

**Disclaimer: All rights go to Suzanne Collins**

**XXXXX**

I took my time pulling on the clothes Portia had laid out for me; loose, black pants and a more fitted forest green t-shirt. However today was our first day of training, and I could not afford to be late, so eventually I dragged myself to breakfast with a sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. If Haymitch's anger from the previous evening was anything to go by, Katniss and I were in for another earful this morning.

When I arrived in the dining room I was immensely pleased to see that Haymitch had yet to arrive. Maybe I would be able to get in a few minutes of peaceful eating before he laid into us.

"Good morning," I said to Katniss as I took the seat beside her. To my slight bewilderment, she was dressed exactly the same as I was.

She nodded in acknowledgement before returning to her breakfast.

"What do you think the matching getups are all about?" I asked as I filled my plate.

She opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a gruff voice. "They're all part of the _wonderful_ strategy you two have created."

So much for a few minutes of peace.

"Morning, Haymitch," Katniss said.

He thumped into his seat. "Save it, sweetheart; kissing my ass will get you nowhere fast."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "It's called being polite. Try it sometime."

He looked genuinely taken aback for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by his typical scowl. "Now you're just sounding like Effie," he huffed, but his words had lost a bit of their bite.

We all ate in silence for a few minutes, but the silence was over as soon as Haymitch's plate was cleared. "Here's the deal, today is your first day of training. The Careers are nothing to be messed around with, so make sure you are watching them for any weaknesses. On the same note, you are to under no circumstances show them your strongest weapon. No bow, no knives. You show them you're lethal with a weapon, and they'll make damn sure you never get your hands on it. Understood?" We nodded. "And Peeta don't show them how much you can lift either. We want to surprise them as much as possible."

"What are we supposed to do then?" I asked incredulously.

"How about you actually try to learn something new?" His voice dripped sarcasm. "Tie some knots, start fires, absorb as much information as you can, because you never know what small bit could save your life. And only after you start to feel brain dead because you have absorbed so much information can you go learn a new weapon."

"What if we can't get our hands on a bow, or knives?" I protest. "Then what?"

Haymitch smirked. "Simple: stay alive."

I gritted my teeth to keep from starting yet another fight with Haymitch.

He took a good look at both of us, presumably waiting for more protesting. When none came, he moved onto the second set of commands for our training sessions. "Now, since you two decided to get yourselves into this damn 'couple' mess, I've got some more rules for you. You are not to leave each other's side all day. Wherever one of you goes, the other follows."

I was beginning to think that this wouldn't be all that hard after all, when he continued on.

"Everyone believes you two are in love, so you need to act like it." At our shocked expressions, he held up a hand. "I'm not saying you need to go make out on the wrestling matts, but a little more smiling and laughing wouldn't kill either of you. Laugh, flirt, whatever; just act like you two at least like each other." Again he paused to see if we would protest, but I think we were both finally starting to understand that protesting got us nowhere with this man. When no protests came, he said, "Since we're all on the same page now, go meet Effie at the elevator, and for the love of God, remember what I said."

We walk to the elevator in silence. I wanted to tell Katniss that I was annoyed with this act we had to put on for the Capitol. I wanted to tell her that if I had to act like I was in love, I was glad it was with her. But neither of those things sounded right, and I couldn't find the words to make them sound right, so I kept my mouth shut.

Effie brightened when we rounded the corner. "Ah! There are my two lovebirds!" Apparently Haymitch hadn't clued her in on the act. "After that marvelous showing last night, the Capitol has been singing your praises! As have I, of course." She pressed the button for the elevator and we piled in. "You know, I was just telling some people this morning what gems you two are, having the wonderful manners you do and whatnot. I think I may have managed to score you a few sponsors!"

I didn't have the heart or energy to tell Effie that sponsors probably didn't judge the tributes by their manners. Instead, I smiled and said, "How thoughtful of you, Effie. Thank you."

Effie beamed even more, if that was even possible. Katniss raised an eyebrow at me, but I just smirked and rolled my eyes behind Effie's back to show that I wasn't serious.

Finally the elevator doors opened and Effie shooed us out, calling a "Good luck!" after us.

To my chagrin, no other district pairs were dressed alike as Katniss and I were. It was obvious they all noticed too as they stared at us. To make matters worse, we were the last to arrive, and they were all waiting for us to start. We quickly took our spots in a large circle that surrounded a young, athletic woman. She introduced herself as Atala, the instructor whose main job was really just to make sure we stay in line and don't kill each other.

She gave us a whole talk about the importance of going to a diverse set of stations and not just the weapons stations. Really she sounded just like Haymitch, which actually gave me more confidence that he knew what he was talking about.

After a few minutes we were dismissed, and I turned to Katniss. "So, where do you want to go first?"

She looked around the room and scanned her options. Her eyes lit up when she saw the plants station, and I suggested we start there. "I don't know," she said. "We're both fairly well versed there and Haymitch wanted us to learn new things…" she trailed off uncertainly.

I scoffed. "Haymitch doesn't have to know. Besides, we'll just call this our warm up." Remembering that we were supposed to be acting like we were in love, I tacked on a wink at the end that made Katniss blush.

Most of the tributes had ignored Atala's advice and ran straight to the weapons stations, so we were alone when we got to our destination. "Alright," I said to Katniss. "No showing me up too badly." The instructor gave us a confused look, so I explained, "Her family owns the apothecary shop. I bet she could even give you a run for your money."

The instructors green lips turned up in a smirk. "We'll see about that," he laughed.

I noticed the instructor watching us with high interest the whole time we were there, no doubt curious about the star-crossed lovers from District 12. In fact, his hovering was starting to get a bit annoying. Luckily, the girl from District 5 came over and the instructor left us – albeit a bit begrudgingly – to spend time with her as well.

"Nosy, much?" I whispered to Katniss.

She laughed. "Okay, so it wasn't just me that thought he was really overbearing."

I glanced over my shoulder to make sure he wasn't listening. "So, tell me, Miss Expert, does this guy actually know what he's talking about?"

She shrugged. "He knows the basics, but I doubt he could run his own shop like my parents."

We spent another half hour or so there, this time Katniss teaching me. I learned a lot from her, like how to tell if berries were poisonous. "Vibrant colors almost always mean poison. Of course, not everything poisonous is brightly colored, but if it's bright – especially bright red – and you don't know what it is, I would stay away just to be safe."

In return, I taught her a few things at the knot tying station. Gale was the snare expert between the two of us, but I could get along well enough to teach Katniss the basics. Besides, if everything went according to plan, she would have me with her most of the time in the arena anyway.

After that it was time for lunch, and Katniss and I sat alone at a table in the corner. We watched with mild amusement as a few kids from some of the lesser districts approached the Careers, most likely in hopes of forming an alliance. All of them were laughed away.

I shook my head. "Did they honestly think they could join the Career pack?"

Katniss shrugged. "They're desperate. They all just want every chance to survive they can get."

"I get that, but they have to be reasonable. I mean, you and I want to get home just as much as they do and look at us, we aren't like that."

"Well, it's different with us."

I rose an eyebrow at her and picked at a piece of bread. "How?"

"We have each other. Look at all the other district pairs. Aside from us, the Careers and District 11, they all seem to completely ignore each other."

I looked around at the tables surrounding us and saw that she was right. Most tributes were sitting alone, and those who were sitting with their district partners weren't speaking to them. "I see your point." This conversation made me remember our act, and I realized we hadn't been doing that great of a job. "Hey," I blurted suddenly, "want to hear a funny story?"

Katniss looked confused for a moment, then realization dawned, and she smiled shyly. "Sure."

I launched into a story about how Gale and I had once stayed up all night in order to try to hunt some of the nocturnal animals in the woods. We had seen nothing, nearly frozen to death, and finally decided to give up just before sunrise. We had been exhausted and dragging ourselves home when Gale swore he heard something in the brush nearby. He had raised his bow and aimed, but nothing happened. Frustrated, he had then thrown a stone into the bush to try to scare it out. Eventually I had convinced him to give up so we could just get home. We had just turned to leave when he felt it. "He swears to this day that it was a hand on his leg, but all I saw was the poor shrub he tackled."

Katniss giggled, a sound that one would expect to be foreign coming from her, but oddly enough it sounded completely normal. "He really thought there was another person in the woods?"

"He says that he thought it was a peacekeeper coming to take us to the Capitol, but I say he was delusional with exhaustion."

She laughed again. "I get that he was tired, but a shrub? Really?"

I shook my head. "We gave up night hunting after that." Talking of Gale and the woods made me homesick, but I couldn't afford to think like that. If I wanted to go home, I had to focus on the games.

After lunch we went to the fire starting station, where the instructor was practically hanging off our every word. When she said, "You two are such an _adorable_ couple!" it became too much, and I politely suggested that Katniss and I move to another station.

In between stations we managed to scope out some of the Careers. The boy from one was vicious with a spear, but not nearly as lethal as the giant of a boy from District 2. The girl from District 1 didn't seem to have a weapon of choice, but she was at least decent in every weapon she touched. The girl from two worried me the most. Her weapon was throwing knives, and she was absolutely deadly. There was no way Katniss would beat her to them at the Cornucopia. We watched as she stood about twelve yards back and sunk a knife straight into a dummy's heart.

"How good are you compared to her?" I asked Katniss, jutting my chin in the direction of the knife throwing girl.

She looked pensive for a moment before responding, "Well, I could've made that throw from at least twice the distance if that tells you anything."

I raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?"

She only shrugged.

I glanced at the clock and saw that we only had about an hour left for the day. "I feel sufficiently brain dead, how about you?" I said.

Katniss nodded. "How about we go try our hand at a spear throwing?"

Seeing that the station was temporarily vacated, I agreed. I didn't really want to be any closer to that District 2 meat head than I needed to be, so I wanted to take advantage of the empty station while we could.

The instructor taught us the basics then sent us over to some dummies to practice. My strength combined with my acute aim gained from hunting allowed me to do pretty well. I was nowhere near as good as District 2, but still after a several attempts I was at least hitting the dummy every time. Katniss on the other hand wasn't fairing too well. Her aim was spot on, but she just couldn't throw it hard enough to get the spear to stick in the dummy. It probably didn't help that the spear was almost as long as she was tall.

After a particularly bad throw, a round of obnoxious laughter came from behind us and Katniss blushed furiously. I turned around to scowl at the Careers standing behind us, watching Katniss struggle. I leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Now would be a great time to demonstrate just how good you are with a knife."

She chewed on her lip. "I don't know. Haymitch said – "

"Screw Haymitch. They're looking at you like you're an easy target, and you know how much they love easy targets. Show them you at least won't go down without a good fight."

She nodded, eyes now hard with determination, squared her shoulders, and walked confidently over to the knife throwing station. The Careers chuckled and left a dramatically wide path for her. Her hand hovered over the knife selection for a moment, then she snatched up an extremely dainty – but no doubt deadly – looking one.

She squared up with a dummy, then backed up roughly twenty-five yards. She tossed it between her hands, getting a feel for its weight. All the while the Careers had not stopped chuckling. Finally, with a slight flick of her wrist, Katniss sent he knife flying. All the Careers laughter stopped when it sunk hilt deep into the dummy's heart.

Grinning like a mad woman, she sauntered back over to me. I smiled, highly impressed and admittedly slightly proud. "Nice job, but you didn't need to go all out," I whispered.

Katniss' grin only widened. "I could've made that from at least another ten feet back."

I stopped walking. "You're joking."

She shrugged, the grin still on her face.

I laughed. "You've been holding out on me, Katniss Everdeen."

Atala told us all how great we did today, then released us.

We walked to the elevator, grinning and laughing at the stupid looks on the Careers faces. Our laughter continued on in the elevator, and I couldn't help but think how happy I was that I was here with Katniss. Of course I didn't want her to be in the Games, but she was making this whole experience somewhat bearable.

However, our laughter and that nice feeling I had both stopped as soon as the elevator doors opened to reveal a very pissed looking Haymitch. "Talk," he said.

**XXXXX**

**DUN DUN DUUUUUNNN what did they get themselves into now?! Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you guys liked this chapter, because I know I liked writing it! Thank you guys in advance for 100 reviews! Maybe next week you will all get a surprise for reaching 100 :) As always, please please please let me know what you thought, because there is always room for improvement!**

**Love always,**

**YesIWriteForFun**


	9. Thank You, Gale

**Okay, so there is NO excuse for why I've been gone so long. I'll just say, it stared out as SATs, Prom, two important gradutations in my family and college visits, then turned into writers block. I am SO sorry for making you guys wait so long, and I'm sure a lot of you have unfollowed and I honestly don't blame you, but for those of you who stayed, you guys are the best. Truly. Life is still pretty hectic - after all I am going into my senior year - so I can't promise a weekly update, or a regular update schedule, but I will do my best to update whenever possible. **

**Anywho, now that that is out of the way, this chapter is a bit on the short side, but again, writer's block sucks. Credit for the title goes to my one hundreth reviewer, Katniss-Odair-the-Mockingjay (awesome name, btw), so thank you again! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.**

** XXXXXX**

Katniss was instantly on high alert, a sure sign of guilt. She opened her mouth, presumably to try to explain, but I placed a hand on her arm to silence her. "What's going on?" I asked, feigning nonchalance.

Haymitch crossed his arms and raised a very suspicious eyebrow at us. "Come on, I know you did something, so spill. What did you do wrong?"

I rolled my eyes and walked towards the sitting room, Katniss following hesitantly behind me. "Do you really have so little faith in us?"

Haymitch caught up to me, grabbed my arm and spun me around. "Answer the question, kid."

I took a deep breath, attempting to sound exasperated. "Alright, Haymitch, here's the truth: we went to the plants station, tied some knots, built a fire or two, then ended the day by embarrassing ourselves at the spear throwing station."

Haymitch continued glaring at me, so I kept the bored expression on my face, ignoring the droplets of sweat that were beginning to form on my palms. Finally, after a good two minutes, he conceded, albeit unhappily. "Well, good. What did you learn about the careers?"

Relieved that he bought my explanation, I launched into a description of each of the tributes' talents. Katniss only interjected occasionally if I forgot something very important. When we finished, Haymitch nodded thoughtfully. "You think you could hold your own against that District 2 girl?" he asked Katniss.

She blushed at the question, and for a second I thought Haymitch was going to catch us in our lie. Luckily, she quickly recovered. "Yeah, as long as she wasn't holding back too much, I could definitely out-throw her."

He nodded again and turned to me. "What about you? Can you shoot farther than they can throw those spears?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, at least fifty yards farther."

Haymitch narrowed her eyes. "Be careful not to get too cocky, kid. That kind of attitude will get you killed the first minute of the games." He glared at me a minute longer before turning back to both of us. "So, it sounds like you both will be fine as long as you keep your distance. But my suggestion would still be don't fight unless you have no other option. If you can, you run. Let those meat-heads kill each other off for you."

"What about when there aren't any meat-heads left to kill themselves off? When it's just us and one of them?" Katniss asked, her voice quiet and pensive.

Haymitch gave her a look that seemed to mean more than just the words he was saying. "Well then, sweetheart, you focus on what you want, and you fight like hell."

**XXXXX**

The next day and a half of training went by mostly the same as the first, save for the part where Katniss showed off in front of the careers. After almost getting caught and chewed out by Haymitch, we were on our best behavior.

On the third day after lunch we were all waiting for our turn to have our private sessions with the Gamemakers. This was our one opportunity to really show them what we could do, and show them what weapons we were good at so that they would be in the cornucopia to make for the best entertainment. They would also give each person a score, from one to twelve, based on their performance. The higher your score, the more sponsors wanted you.

We had all been sitting in silence, everyone either too focused or too nervous to speak. Too soon though it was down to just Katniss and I as the male tribute from District 11 went in. We sat in silence for a minute before it became unbearable. "What are you thinking about?" I asked her, noting the pensive look that had filled her features since lunch.

A light blush crept across her cheeks. "My father, actually."

I rose an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Your father? Why?" I had expected a response more along the lines of "everything I know about throwing knives".

The blush remained on her cheeks, though it was fading as she spoke. "Well, he taught me everything I know about throwing knives. I was just thinking about how lucky I am that he taught me that. There was so much more he wanted to teach me – shooting a bow, for example – but throwing knives was the only thing he could get away with teaching me in town." She paused for a moment, then continued on, her voice carrying a tone that led me to think she was speaking to herself now more than me. "I guess I was just thinking about how, if he hadn't given me that gift, I would have nothing going into this session. Nothing to show the Gamemakers anyway. I owe him so much, quite possibly my life, but I never thanked him. Now I may never get the chance to thank him."

I wasn't quite sure how to properly respond to that, or even if there was a proper response, so I stayed quiet. Finally, deciding the best response was a completely irrelevant one, I said, "You'll be great in there. They'll see that you blow that District 2 girl out of the water and then they'll have no choice but to give you a good score."

She turned toward me, her gaze no longer far off. "Thank you. You know, you – " Whatever she had been about to say was cut off by some unseen voice announcing that it was Katniss' turn.

With a nervous smile, she stood and began to walk towards the doors that led to the room where the sessions were being held. "Good luck," I called after her.

Katniss stopped and turned around, a more genuine grin on her face. "Shoot straight, Peeta."

I watched her continue on her path, the doors swinging shut behind her, and then I was alone. Still, Katniss' words about her father were playing back in my mind. _I owe him so much…but I never thanked him._ I could relate to that. In more than one way. First, there was of course my debt to Katniss. I literally owed her my life, and, up until a few days ago, I had never even thanked her.

And then there was Gale. Foraging in the woods for berries and roots day after day may have been enough to sustain my family, but the level to which we lived right now could not have been reached without Gale's knowledge of hunting and snaring. But it went beyond that. He taught me how to use a bow, a weapon that would most likely be the difference between life and death for me in these games. Like Katniss, if I didn't have my bow going into that room, I would have nothing. I owed all that to Gale.

And I never even thanked him.

But I couldn't afford to think like Katniss, to think that I may never have the chance. I had to believe without a doubt that I would return home. That being said, I swore to myself that the first thing I would do when I returned home would be to thank Gale.

I had been so lost in thought that I hadn't even noticed how long Katniss had been in there. Each session was limited to fifteen minutes. However, fifteen minutes came and went and still I wasn't called in. It wasn't until twenty minutes after Katniss had gone in that they finally called me and I entered the large room, but I couldn't spare a thought as to why that was. Or why a wrestling mat was obviously out of place, propped up against a far wall.

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the bow and arrow, taking a few minutes to accustom myself to this bow, testing the resistance of the string and getting comfortable with it in my grip. Then, I walked over to a dummy and stood about fifty yards away, thinking I should play it safe at first until I was comfortable and my nerves were calmed. I shot twice, both arrows going straight through the dummy's heart.

The Gamemakers stood on a platform above the room where they had a perfect view of the tributes below. However, not one of them had their attention on me. Instead, they were all focused on the feast that was set out before them.

Assuming this meant I needed to step up my game and entertainment value – after all, that was all the games were about – I took a few plastic discs used as moving targets and tossed them in the air. I shot them all with ease, despite the increased difficulty. Then, going back to the dummy, I backed up to one hundred and fifty yards before shooting off five arrows at rapid pace, all going right into the heart.

I glanced at the Gamemakers again. Still, not one of them was so much as sparing me a glance, not caring at all that my life was in their hands. Seeing red, I notched an arrow and let it fly before I could so much as think about what I was doing. It easily hit its target – a light fixture above their heads – and I finally got their attention. The light shattered, sparks raining down. The Gamemakers all gasped and fled back, one woman even screaming and fainting.

After their moment of pure panic was over they all turned to me. I stared them down as I tossed the bow and quiver onto the ground before stalking off toward the elevator without a word. In the elevator I punched the button for my floor and stared stonily ahead as the doors closed. As soon as they were shut, however, I kicked the wall, ignoring the pain it sent shooting up my foot and yelled, "God _dammit_!" I had acted without thinking, and now I had just sealed my fate to die in that arena.

I felt tears prick at my eyes, but I took a deep breath and composed myself, not wanting anyone to see me cry. By the time the doors reopened, my face was a blank mask.

Haymitch was leaning against the wall next to the doors, apparently waiting for me. "Well?" he asked. "How did it go?"

Ignoring him I just kept walking, wanting nothing more than to be alone in my room. I had only gone about fifteen feet when I heard Haymitch sigh and say, "Not you too." That stopped me.

I turned around and gave him a skeptical look. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Haymitch pushed off the wall and stalked over to me. "Let me guess, the Gamemakers weren't paying any attention to you, so you got pissed off and did something drastic. Look, you two really aren't making this easy for me."

"Wait, you're telling me Katniss did something to make the Gamemakers mad in her training session?" Haymitch nodded, and I took off again down the hall, my new destination being Katniss' room. If anyone could understand how I was feeling right now, it was obviously her.

I heard Haymitch calling after me. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" I ignored him of course, which only prompted him to say. "This is what I get for getting invested."

I reached Katniss' door and knocked. "Go away!" she yelled from inside. I knocked again, louder. I heard her groan and then her footsteps as she crossed her room to open the door. "What?" she snapped. "Here to lecture me too?"

"Nope," I said. "Here to sympathize."

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, in that case, please come in." Her tone was only slightly sarcastic, so I walked past her and into her room. She shut the door behind her and sat on her bed, looking at me expectantly. Again, as I had a few nights before, I ignored the signs that she had been crying.

Sinking into a chair in the corner of her room, I blurted out, "I shot an arrow at them." I watched as her eyes grew wide, and I quickly tried to explain myself. "They weren't paying attention to me, no matter what I did. And it wasn't really at them anyway. It was at a light above their heads, which broke and made sparks come down on them."

I'm not sure what I expected from Katniss, but I didn't really expect her to laugh. "Well, after they ignored me while I threw knives farther and more accurately than I ever have before, I grabbed every knife I could find and threw them at the wall so they spelled out 'screw you'. Then, I loudly yelled, 'Thank you so much for your consideration,' and stormed out." I just stared at her. "At least you got to see their reactions," she said with a smirk.

After a moment I returned her grin. "It was pretty funny seeing them all freak out. One woman started screaming like I shot her in the leg before she passed out."

Katniss laughed, the sound fuller than I had ever heard it. I joined in and a little of my stress from the elevator was relieved. Until Katniss spoke again. "Well, looks like we'll be getting the first zeros tonight."

I sighed and leaned my head back against the chair. "I guess we can say goodbye to any possible sponsors."

All signs of our previous laughing fit were gone. "Don't worry too much," Katniss said. "You'll get a lot back after the interview."

I hoped she was right. "I'm sure you will too," I tried to reassure her.

She only flushed and looked at her hands. "I guess we'll see."

**XXXX**

**Thank you everyone so much for reading, and again, thank you especially to those of you who stuck with me through this. I cannot express how much that means to me. I hope you all enjoyed, I think this chapter does a good job of capturing how Katniss may be a bit more reserved in this AU, but she is still the fiesty chick we all love. I'm still having a bit of an issue with writer's block, so if anyone has any ideas feel free to leave them in the reviews or PM me. And as always, let me know what you thought! I love to hear all of your theories and thoughts and opinions! Until next time!**

**Love always,**

**YesIWriteForFun**


	10. Smile for the Cameras

**Hello everyone! See, I promised it wouldn't be too long before I updated again! Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favorites last chapter! I appreciate how understanding you all were during my absense. Anywho, hopefully this makes up for it! I have a longer chapter for you guys, and, in my opinion, this is where I really start branching off from canon. You'll see what I mean... Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own THG**

**XXXXX**

Katniss and I were eventually left her room for the promise of dinner. No matter what we were feeling, keeping our health had to be our number one concern in these next few days.

No one spoke to us as we entered the dining room. We sat in silence and a couple Avoxes set overflowing plates in front of us. Cinna and Portia were the only ones speaking, with occasional intervention from Effie. The conversation was of nothing that concerned Katniss, Haymitch and me – some gossip about Capitol higher ups from the sounds of it. This was why when Haymitch spoke up it startled both Katniss and I into alertness. "That's it," he said, putting his fork and knife back on the table with more force than necessary. "Effie, I don't care what you think they need. _I'm_ their mentor, and damn it, I need to know what's going on." He turned to us with such intensity that Katniss flinched, though almost imperceptibly. "What the hell happened today?"

Katniss and I shared a look, both wondering if we should share or not. Silently, we came to the same conclusion – we had to tell him. We would have to explain anyway when our scores came up as zeros. So we took turns telling our respective stories, the whole time braced for serious backlash from everyone. When we finished, however, we were met only with sympathetic gazes. Though, Effie was looking a bit pale.

"And now we have no chance of getting sponsors," I said looking directly to Haymitch. "I'm sorry."

"_We're _sorry," Katniss corrected. "After we forced you to help us, we threw away any help you may have gained us."

Haymitch's expression left no doubt that he was furious, though I had a distinct feeling that his anger wasn't directed at us. "We'll see," was his only response. Without another word he stood and made his way to the sitting room, turning on the television.

Effie stood and followed him, an angry click to her gate. Cinna and Portia remained a moment longer, both looking at us with nothing but sympathy. "While I cannot condone either of your actions, I have to say that I also cannot blame either one of us. If it were up to me, you both would be receiving a twelve tonight," Cinna said. He gave us each a meaningful look, then spun on his heel and sat beside Effie on the couch.

Portia walked behind our chairs, placed a hand on both Katniss and my shoulders and said, "Don't worry; I have a strong feeling that everything will work out in the end. Now come on, it's about to start."

I put my hand over Portia's and gave it a light squeeze. "Thank you," I said, looking up at her. She gave me a motherly smile then joined the others. With a sigh, I stood and offered my hand to Katniss. "Let's get this over with," I said.

She took my hand, squeezed, and said, "It will all be okay."

We watched as the tributes and their scores showed up on the screen, one by one. Katniss and I were each on the edge of our seats. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, Katniss' name and image appeared on the screen. I felt her grip my hand so tightly it hurt, only then realizing she hadn't released it since I had offered it to her earlier.

The room took in a collective breath in anticipation and then –

"A ten?" Katniss questioned in a weak voice. "I don't understand."

I gave her a smile. "I guess they liked your guts. Congrats," I said. Everyone but Haymitch echoed my congratulations, and then it was my turn. I held my breath, expecting the worst. _Maybe they would pity me and give me a two, _I thought. _Maybe_ – The number eleven appeared next to my picture, remained for a moment, then the screen went black.

I looked over to Haymitch with wide eyes. He had the remote in his hand, obviously having turned the television off. He met my gaze with not the confusion I expected, but concern.

Portia reached towards me from the couch next to me. She squeezed my arm with a smile. "Nice job, Peeta!"

I shook my head. "I shot an arrow at them. I could have killed one of them."

Cinna smiled. "I guess it's like you told Katniss – they liked your guts."

I was too stunned to return his smile. I glanced at Katniss to find her already staring at me, her eyes wide with confusion and something else I couldn't place. Uncomfortable with the intensity of her gaze, I shifted my focus to Haymitch, only to find him too already looking at Katniss and me.

"Everyone out," he said, keeping his eyes on us. "I need to talk to the kids alone."

Slowly everyone filed out of the room, giving us goodbyes of varying enthusiasm levels as they walked by. Once everyone was gone, I looked back to Haymitch. He was staring very pointedly at a spot in between me and Katniss. Following his gaze, I saw that he was staring at our still entwined hands. I yanked my hand from Katniss'.

Katniss barely seemed to notice. "Haymitch, what is it? Something's wrong, I can tell. You're worried." Hearing the panic in her voice, I realized what the emotion was I saw in her eyes: fear.

Haymitch ran a hand over his face, looking more exhausted than I had ever seen him. "Maybe they did like your guts, but that isn't why they gave you high scores."

"Why did they then?" I asked, leaning forward, my elbows on my knees.

Haymitch looked very sober in that moment. "They just put a huge target on your back."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could actually see the blood drain from Katniss' face. "The careers – "

"Don't like being beat," Haymitch finished. The highest score any of the careers had gotten was a ten, by Cato, the beast from District 2. "You can bet your asses that they'll be coming after you two with a vengeance. You thought the careers were intimidating before? That's nothing compared to when it gets personal."

We sat in silence for a moment, all soaking in this new found obstacle. Finally, I said, "What do we do?"

Haymitch sighed. "Move on. There's nothing you can do to change this now, so the best thing we can do is carry on with the original plan. Tomorrow we have all day to prep you for your interviews. You'll spend half the day learning superficial stuff from Effie, the other half strategizing with me. These interviews are the last chance you have to impress any possible sponsors. If you really want to make up for what happened today, nail these interviews." Katniss and I must have still looked concerned, because he added, "There's no sense in worrying about it. Now, go to bed and try to get some sleep."

**XXXXX**

"Try" was the key word in Haymitch's parting line, seeing as sleep was nearly impossible to find. Regardless of the pointlessness of worrying, it was all I could do. All I could think about was that I had let Rye down, broken my promise to come home to him. Regardless of Katniss' mother's promise, I knew that without my hunting and my trading for Rye's medicine, he and my father would die. The guilt was enough to weigh down on my chest until I felt like I was suffocating.

After hours of tossing and turning, I gave up and decided I needed to get out of my room. I remembered seeing a door earlier that had a sign labeling it as leading to the roof. Thinking a breath of fresh air might help, I made my way back to it. What I really wanted was to escape into the woods, but there was no chance of that happening.

I opened the door that led to the roof and was immediately rewarded with a cool breeze on my face. Closing my eyes, I took a moment to let it relax me. If I tried hard enough, I could pretend I was back in the woods, waiting for the sun to rise and Gale to sneak up behind me. But I wasn't in the woods. I opened my eyes and stepped further onto the roof. I stopped, however, when I saw a shadow standing at the railing, staring off into the distance. "Couldn't sleep either, huh?"

Katniss jumped a little before turning around to face me. "No, I couldn't."

I continued walking until I was beside her. "Yeah, it's pretty hard to not worry when you just dug your own grave." I expected at least a small smile at that, but Katniss just kept her gaze focused ahead. With a sigh, I knew I should bring up what had been on my mind for a while. "Katniss," I said. She must have heard something in my voice because she immediately turned to face me. "We have to talk about what we're going to do in the games."

She stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I cannot imagine running into you in the arena and having to shoot you." Katniss flinched, but I plowed on anyway, words spewing out now that the tap was open. "I'm not sure I can handle having to wait until night to know if you're dead every time I hear a cannon. Katniss, I've told you before, if I'm not coming out of these games alive, it _has_ to be you."

"Peeta, what are you trying to say?" she asked in a small voice.

I took a deep breath and launched right in. "I want to be your ally."

Katniss sighed and turned away from me again. She was quiet for a few minutes, but I let her be, knowing that the best way to get Katniss to speak was to not push her. Finally she said, "I can't do that."

I couldn't have been more surprised if she had told me she was an alien. I had thought we were on the same page on the whole ally thing. "Why not?" I couldn't help the angry tone that leaked into my voice.

Katniss' voice also held a bit of anger when she spoke again. "Think about it, Peeta. What happens when it's just the two of us? I can't kill you, Peeta, I can't."

Immediately I shoved down the odd feeling that rose inside me when she said she couldn't kill me. I had to admit, I was relieved that she hadn't told me it was something personally against me. "We'll separate before it gets down to the two of us then."

Katniss thought about it for a minute before she nodded. "Okay. When it gets down to the final five, we'll go our separate ways. Deal?"

I couldn't help the grin that spread across my lips with relief. "Deal," I said. Realizing I sounded a bit too excited, I added. "I mean, we probably should keep up the whole couple charade anyway."

Something passed across Katniss face, but it was gone before I could even really think about it. "Oh, right. We should be keeping that up. For the sponsors and all."

I reached out and squeezed her shoulder. "We should try to get some sleep." Katniss nodded and we made our way silently back to our rooms. Standing across from each other, leaning against our respective doorways, I said, "Thank you."

Katniss tipped her head to the side. "For what?"

"For not making me do this alone."

Katniss smiled and simply said, "Goodnight, Peeta."

I returned her smile. "Sweet dreams, Katniss."

**XXXXX**

"No, you have to _smile_!" Effie said for what seemed like the thousandth time.

Katniss huffed in exasperation. "I am smiling!"

Effie raised a dyed eyebrow at her. "Really? Because it looks to me more like you're in pain." I couldn't hold back the snort that snuck out. Katniss shot daggers at me, and Effie whipped her focus in my direction. "I don't know what you think is so funny. At least she is _trying_ to smile."

Katniss gave me a satisfied smirk. I narrowed my eyes at her before turning back to Effie. "You said to be myself. 'Myself' doesn't involve much smiling."

Effie placed her hands on her hips, clearly moments from losing all her patience with us. "That is simply not true. I've seen you and Katniss smile at each other countless times. Without appearing to be in pain, might I add."

"That's different!" Katniss huffed indignantly.

"How so?" Effie was beginning to turn red under all her makeup.

"We aren't trying to smile and be nice. We're just smiling because we're happy or laughing or something," I interjected in our defense. "Effie, I'm not sure if you've noticed this, but we aren't exactly good actors."

Effie sat in an armchair across from us, seemingly beginning to calm at my explanation. "I suppose you do have a point." She seemed to contemplate the situation for a few moments before brightening. "I've got it! If the issue is that you can't act, then don't act!" She must have realized that her "solution" made absolutely no sense, because she quickly clarified. "It's quite simple, really. When you're each being interviewed, just pretend you're having a conversation with the other."

Katniss and I shared a look. I had to admit, it wasn't an awful idea.

"Hopefully," Effie continued with a dramatic sigh, "it will fix the lack of charm you two currently possess." She looked at each of us. "Well? What do you think?"

We exchanged another brief glance. Part of me hated the fact that Effie was right – that I was getting comfortable with Katniss. After all, in just a few short weeks at least one of us would be dead. But the other part of me couldn't hate the comfort I felt when Katniss was sitting beside me. I tore my gaze from Katniss'. "It's a great idea, Effie," I said. "We'll give it a shot."

"Yes, it's a perfect solution, Effie," Katniss agreed.

Effie was visibly relieved. "Wonderful! Now that that is settled, let's move on to posture!"

The next few hours were filled with the discovery that, not only was there a wrong way to sit, but there was also a wrong way to laugh and walk. Though I had to admit, Katniss had it much worse; at least I didn't have to wear heels.

We took a thirty minute break for lunch, and then it was Haymitch's turn to prepare us.

We sat across from him in the dining room, and he was looking at us expectantly. After several minutes, I couldn't take it anymore. "What?" I asked in annoyance.

Haymitch only leaned back in his chair. "I can tell you two have something you want to say to me, so spit it out."

I was trying to figure out what on earth he was talking about when Katniss spoke up. "You're right; there is something we need to tell you." She paused to take a quick glance at me. "We've decided to be allies."

Haymitch merely raised an eyebrow. "Are you two sure you can handle that? When it gets down to the two of you – "

I cut him off, now caught up with the conversation. "We're going to separate when only five tributes are left."

Haymitch nodded. "Well, that makes this whole 'couple' thing a lot easier to play up. You two do realize that if you want to keep your sponsors, you're going to have to keep the act up in the arena, right?"

I glanced at Katniss out of the corner of my eye. "We understand," she said.

Haymitch nodded again, seemingly fine with our decision. "Well, in that case, I have an idea for tonight that will be sure to have the sponsors lining up at the door."

**XXXXX**

**Cliffy! Sorry, but if I told you guys what would happen in the interviews, that would kind of make the interviews boring, right? So, in case you haven't figured it out, interviews are next chapter, and I think you'll all like what I have in mind! I'm excited! As always, please let me know what you thought! Are the characters to OOC, not enough? What are your theories for the interviews? Let me know!**

**Love always,**

**YesIWriteForFun**


	11. The Interview

**Hey everyone! I know, I totally suck. I seriously cannot apologize for how sucky I am, but in my defense, I've been trying to do school work, apply to college, work, and maybe, possibly, in my dreams, have a social life. I've had very little time to sit down and write, and I just don't feel comfortable sending something out there that I banged out in ten minutes just to put something out there. BUT on the bright side, this chapter is finally the interviews! YAY! Its a tiny bit more OOC than my previous chapters, but I think it fits this chapter well. Also, this one is longer! Over 2600 words! (Okay, not that long, but long for me!) Anyway, enough chit chat - enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own THG.**

**XXXX**

"Stop fidgeting," Portia chastised as she stood between me and the full length mirror. She had me dressed in a black suit with blue accents on the sleeves and the pant openings. Underneath the jacket I wore a deep orange dress shirt that appeared red in dark lighting. Obviously she and Cinna had decided to keep up the fire theme.

I stopped my wiggling and watched as she adjusted my shirt collar. "I'm sorry," I sighed. "I guess I'm just nervous."

"Speaking in front of an entire nation, who wouldn't be?" Portia's hands stilled as she smiled up at me.

I leveled a glare at her. "You are neither helpful nor funny."

She pressed her lips together, but a small burst of her gentle laugh managed to escape anyway. "Don't worry so much. You and I both know that you'll do fine."

"Do we?" I asked, hating how vulnerable I sounded. There was something so mother-like about Portia, despite the fact that she was only a handful of years older than me; it was easy to opening up to her.

Portia spun us around so that I now had my back to the mirror, and she remained facing me. "Peeta Mellark," she said, chin in the air and voice unwavering. "You have overcome obstacles that no child – or adult, really – should ever even have to imagine. You are strong, you are brave, you are smart," she placed a hand on my cheek, "and you have a kind soul. There is no doubt in my mind that you will do wonderfully on that stage."

"I just don't know how to make people like me," I whispered.

Portia sighed, though it held a wistful note. "Oh, Peeta. I promise you, when you and Katniss are finished tonight, the entire nation will be head-over-heels in love with you."

Her mention of Katniss brought the plan we had devised with Haymitch to the forefront of my mind once more. We were to confess our love to Panem this evening. Haymitch wanted Katniss to hint at it and get them all worked up, then I would step in and direct the conversation to some story about me being in love with her since the first time I saw her when we were five. It was the most romantic story the three of us could come up with, but that doesn't really mean much when you consider that the three of us don't have a romantic bone in our bodies. Regardless, it would have to work; Katniss and I were too dependent on this plan to gain sponsors.

I could feel the panic begin to rise in my gut, so I tried to quickly change the subject, asking Portia the first thing that came to mind. "Portia, have you ever been in love?"

She gave me a questioning look, but must have decided it was my nerves speaking. Sighing, she sat on the couch across the room and motioned for me to sit across from her. I did.

"Once, yes, I was in love." She stopped, seeing if that was enough to appease me. It wasn't, so she continued. "We grew up in the same apartment building. Same floor, even. He was a year older than me, and never let me forget it." She paused to let out a soft laugh. "We would chase each other all over that building, not a care in the world. But eventually, we grew too old to chase each other and too old to remain so blissfully unaware. At school, the kids would rave about the Hunger Games, all so excited to pick their favorites and watch them die." I couldn't help it, I flinched. "This boy and I, we never really joined in on the excitement. Quite the opposite really. We," she paused, obviously choosing her words carefully – she is still a Capitol worker after all, and I had no doubt this room was bugged. "We just were never that involved," she finally said.

I waited for her to continue, but when it was apparent she was finished, I pressed for more. "What happened? Why aren't you with him now?"

She stood and her face was nearly split in two by her smile. "Why, Peeta, whoever told you I'm not?" She winked.

I smiled as well, feeling more at ease than I had earlier. "Fair enough," I laughed.

Portia extended her hand to me. "Come on, it's about time to go, and Cinna and I wanted you and Katniss to arrive together."

We excited the room and Portia led me through a few halls before we finally reached a closed door. Portia rapped on it a few times, then stepped back beside me. We only had to wait a moment before it swung open to reveal a grinning Cinna, who then stepped aside to show us a radiant Katniss. Literally, she was radiant. She was dressed in a floor length gown that was the exact color of my shirt and appeared to glow. I don't know how he accomplished it, but Cinna even managed to make it look as though the bottom caught fire anew every time she took a step.

"Wow," I breathed, unable to stop myself.

She gave me a small smile. "Wow yourself, boy-on-fire."

I shot her a toothy grin. "Oh no. Tonight, you're the only one wearing flames, girl-on-fire."

Katniss opened her mouth, a witty retort surely on the tip of her tongue, but Cinna interrupted her by clearing his throat. "We really hate to interrupt this," he laughed, "but we must be going."

Perhaps it was only the light reflecting off her dress, but I swear Katniss blushed scarlet.

Without another word we followed them down another hall, into an elevator, through another few halls, before we finally arrived in the area where they lined up all the tributes before we were to take the stage. Portia merely left me with a pat on my shoulder, while Cinna leaned down and whispered to Katniss something that once again left her cheeks rosy.

Once they were gone, it was only Katniss and I. Well, technically we were accompanied by twenty-two other tributes, all giving us death glares, but I chose to ignore them. "Katniss," I said. She turned toward me and I was momentarily stunned by the way she looked at me, eyes full of innocence and trust. The only other person to look at me that way was Rye. I cleared my throat and shook these thoughts from my mind. "Just remember the plan, okay?"

She nodded and faced forward, taking her place behind the titanic boy from District 11. The music played and we began to make our way in.

Like diligent little soldiers, we walked single file to the arc of seating that had been set for us behind Caesar's seat. Being the boy tribute from District 12, I took the last seat. With nothing else to look at, I couldn't stop myself from staring out at the see of people before us. And to think there are only millions more at home. I took a deep breath, trying not to let the panic resurface. I couldn't afford to think like that. Of course, this was easier said than done. I spent the playing of the anthem as well as the first few interviews distracted by my nerves. Then suddenly, in the middle of the male tribute from District 2's interview, I felt a small hand slip into mine.

I glanced at Katniss, eyes wide with surprise, but she was only looking ahead as if nothing had happened. Setting aside my pride momentarily, I gave her hand a grateful squeeze.

Though I paid attention for the rest of the interviews, they were overall fairly uneventful. Some of the tributes had clear angles they were playing up – the male from District 2, for example, was unsurprisingly playing up his strength and tough bravado – while others seemed to be barely holding it together. I could only pray that I would be a part of the former group. To his credit, however, Caesar did his best to help both sets of tributes shine, and he managed to end each interview with every tribute having at least one memorable moment.

Both at last and all too soon, it was Katniss' turn. Admittedly it was with some resistance that I released her hand, but I knew that I had to. I watched her make her way down the stairs and towards Caesar, doing much better in her heels than she had earlier today. All I could do now was hope our plan would work.

Caesar greeted her enthusiastically, marveling over her dress. "You District 12 coal miners, just can't get enough fire, can you?!" He laughed, and the audience joined in. Katniss could barely manage a nervous giggle.

Caesar gestured for her to sit and she obeyed. "Now, Katniss," Caesar began, as though he was about to ask her about the meaning of life. "What do you think of the Capitol so far?"

"Well," she began unsurely. Caesar gave her a nod. "It's very bright."

Caesar laughed, once again getting the audience to join in, despite the fact that what Katniss had said wasn't even that funny. "Bright? Is that so?"

Katniss smiled a bit. "Well, back home everything has a layer of coal dust over it, so I guess anything would be bright in comparison."

Caesar laughed once more, giving a few sounds of understanding. "I suppose it would be!" He asked her a few more questions about her life back home, and Katniss mostly responded in regards to her little sister, Prim. She had just begun to visibly relax when Caesar asked, "So Katniss, finally, the question that every guy in the capital has been wondering since your reaping: is there a special man in your life?"

Her shoulder's tensed, and I could see the panic raising in her chest. It only lasted a few second though, because she looked over Caesar's shoulder where all the other tributes and I were sitting. Somehow she found my eyes immediately, and I held her gaze, giving her what I hoped was a reassuring nod. It must have worked, at least to some degree, because she turned back to Caesar. "Well," her voice cracked a bit and she had to start again. "Well, no. Not unless you count my father, Caesar." She gave a small, uneasy laugh.

Caesar wasn't convinced. "Oh, come on now! A beautiful young girl like you, there must be someone back home rooting for you?"

If I hadn't been paying such close attention to her I may have missed it, but I just caught the quick glance she threw in my direction. When she looked back at Caesar, there was something different about the way she spoke to him. All her nerves were gone, and her voice held a much different note, something I couldn't quite place. "There is someone, but he's neither back home nor rooting for me, I'm sure."

Caesar looked genuinely taken aback. "That's ludicrous! How could he not root for the woman he loves, especially when she's as lovely as you?"

This time, when Katniss met my gaze over his shoulder, she held it, even as she spoke. "Tell me Caesar, would you root for the woman you loved if her winning meant your death?" She continued looking at me for another moment before turning back to a flabbergasted Caesar.

"Katniss," he said slowly, obviously trying to make sense of it all. "Are you saying that you and Peeta – " He was cut off by the buzzer before he could finish his thought.

Katniss had gone off script, but she had certainly done her job of hinting at a romance between us. The audience had erupted in mixtures of applause, surprise and complaints, but I was still focused on Katniss. The moment the buzzer went off, she leaped up and tried to make a run for it, but Caesar grabbed her arm and leaned down to whisper in her ear. He must have been too quiet for mics to pick up, so I have no idea what he told her, but whatever it was, it made Katniss look at him in shock before nodding and walking quickly towards me.

I leaped to my feet as well, knowing it was my turn. I walked quickly down the steps, meeting Katniss halfway. We locked eyes for a moment, and I saw a tear trailing down her cheek. She was crying?

Katniss moved to push past me, but before she could I grabbed her arm and spun her back toward me. I didn't think, I didn't hesitate – I just acted. Cupping her tear stained cheek in my palm, I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers. She stiffened in surprised under my touch, but before she even had a chance to react I pulled away and continued my walk towards the stage. If the audience had reacted wildly before, they were in hysterics now. I ignored it all as I walked toward Caesar.

I had no idea why I had just done that. I guess I had just gotten caught up in the act, and, I'll admit, I hated watching Katniss cry. But it was mostly that I had gotten caught up in the act, I'm sure. That's all any of it was anyway: an act.

Caesar barely greeted me before he got down to business. "Peeta Mellark of District 12," he announced. "I was going to ask you what you thought about what Katniss and I discussed during her interview, but I guess you just answered that question!" He gave a hearty laugh and the audience whooped and hollered. I couldn't help the blush that crept up my cheeks. "So we'll just cut right to the chase then," he continued. "Peeta, are you rooting for Katniss?"

I wasn't expecting him to be so forward about it; I was completely caught off guard, and it took me a bit longer to form a response than it should have. "Well, Caesar, that's – that's not easy to answer."

Caesar laughed. "What do you mean? You love the girl, don't you?"

Once again, I was caught off guard. "I – " my voice cracked. "Of course I love her." Something felt odd as I formed those words, but I plowed ahead anyway. "But it isn't that simple."

Caesar seemed much more genuine now, his voice quieter, tone softer. "What do you mean by that?"

I swallowed hard. Here goes nothing. "My brother – "

"The one you volunteered for at the Reaping?"

I was momentarily stunned that he had remembered that. Then again, I suppose it was his job to remember these things. "Yes. Rye." I paused, searching the group of tributes behind Caesar for Katniss. When I found her, she gave me a small nod, and it was enough to keep me going. I looked back to Caesar. "He's dying." Caesar looked like he was about to interject, but I kept going. "He has issues with his lungs. He has trouble breathing, and it's only getting worse. We get by on small homemade remedies from Katniss' family's apothecary shop, but they aren't enough to stop the inevitable, only slow it down. Rye is dying, and the only thing that can save him is medicine from the Capitol – medicine we can only dream of affording."

"But if you won the Hunger Games, you would have plenty of money to buy that medicine for him," Caesar stated, his voice uncharacteristically somber.

I nodded. "So you see, I need to win, Caesar. I need to win so that my brother won't die." I looked at Katniss once more. "But that doesn't mean I want to win."

Caesar placed a hand on my arm, regaining my focus. "I don't envy you, Peeta Mellark, and I wish you the best in the Games."

"Thank you," I said sincerely, just as the buzzer rang.

**XXXX**

**Do buzzers ring? I have no idea. Anywhoooo... please let me know what you thought! I'm a bit worried about them getting too OOC here, so let me know what you thought. Plus, is this too cheesy? I'm such a cheesy romantic myself I have blurred vision on these things. Let me know in the reviews, and always feel free to pm me with any questions! I am done making promises about updates other than this: I WILL UPDATE. No matter how busy I am, I will finish this story. It may be slow going, and I am sorry for that, but this story will be finished. Thank you so much to everyone that has stuck with me, and as soon as I think of a way to repay you, I totally will.**

**Until next time,**

**YesIWriteForFun**


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